^^ 


The  entrance  gateway  of  a   new  hii 
lines — the  home  of 


Killiam   if-   Hopkins,    architects 


c  designed  a!ong  true  New  England  Colonial 
F.  Pitman,  Longwood.  Mass. 


ARCHITECTURAL   STYLES 

FOR 

COUNTRY    HOUSES 


THE  CHARACTERISTICS  AND  MERITS  OF 
VARIOUS  TYPES  OF  ARCHITECTURE  AS  SET 
FORTH  BY  ENTHUSIASTIC  ADVOCATES 


EDITED  BY 

HENRY  H.  SAYLOR 


NEW  YORK 

McBRIDE,  NAST  &  COMPANY 

1912 


53 


Copyright,  1912,  hy 
McBHinE,  Nast  &  Co. 


THE    COUNTRY    HOUSE    LIBRARY 
A  SERIES  OF  ARCHITECTURAL  BOOKS 
FOR  THE  LAYMAN 


Contents 


PAGE 

Introduction 1 

By  the  Editor 

The  Colonial  House .       7 

By  Frank  E.  Wallis 

Modern  English  Plaster  Houses 23 

By  J.  Lovell  Little,  Jr. 

The  Swiss  Chalet  Type ....     37 

By  Louis  J.  Stellman 

Italian  Adaptations 47 

By  Louis  Boynton 

Tudor  Houses 57 

By  R.  Clipston  Sturgis 

The  Spanish  Mission  Type 67 

By  George  C.  Baum 

The  Half-timber  House    . 77 

By  Allen  W.  Jackson 

The  Dutch  Colonial  House 89 

By  Aymar  Embury,  II 

A  Style  of  the  Western  Plains  .      .      .      .      .      .  101 

By  Hugh  M.  G.  Garden 

The  Northern  Tradition 115 

By  Alfred  Morton  Githens 


267367 


Introduction 


Among  the  multitude  of  perplexing  problems  that  will 
face  the  builder  of  a  home,  especially  if  he  be  one  who  is  im- 
willing  to  accept  a  mere  box  out  of  a  mold,  not  the  least 
troublesome  will  be  the  selection  of  an  architectural  style. 
As  he  visits  the  new  homes  of  his  friends  his  mind  is  keenly 
receptive  to  the  impressions  made  by  each  distinctive  style  — 
or  lack  of  it. 

In  this  modern  adaptation  of  the  Colonial  he  feels  that  he 
has  reached  at  last  the  acme  of  charm  —  what  could  be  more 
hospitable,  dignified  and  expressive  of  the  spirit  of  America? 
Could  anything  be  more  satisfying  than  the  treatment  of 
that  stairway,  outlined  by  its  mahogany  rail  and  exquisitely 
molded  white  balusters?  But  in  the  ardor  of  his  newly  ac- 
quired conviction  he  visits  a  half -timber  house,  the  architect 
of  which  has  observed  in  conscientious  detail  the  best  English 
tradition.  Perhaps,  after  all,  the  Colonial  house  was  a  bit 
stiif  and  formal  —  there  is  an  indefinable  charm  in  the  ir- 
regularity of  plan,  in  the  quiet  library,  paneled  to  the  ceiling 
in  dark  waxed  oak.  Surely  this  is  more  homelike.  Then  a 
friend  tells  liim  of  the  work  that  is  being  designed  by  the  so- 
called  "  Chicago  School,"  into  wliich  the  dry  bones  of  past 


2     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

civilizations  and  peoples  long  dead  have  not  been  dragged  — • 
work  that  stands  upon  its  own  legs  and  dtaws  its  inspiration 
from  the  natural  evolution  of  modern  methods  and  ma- 
terials as  influenced  by  the  character  of  the  coimtry  itself, 
bringing  to  these  homes  of  the  West  the  long  horizontal 
lines  dictated  bj'  the  vast  reaches  of  the  prairies. 

Our  friend  who  was  about  to  build  decides  that  the  sub- 
ject will  bear  deeper  investigation,  and  postpones  the  execu- 
tion of  working  drawings.  It  is  an  excellent  thing,  for  most 
of  us  build  but  once,  unfortunately,  and  the  errors  we  fall 
into  in  haste  we  shall  live  to  repent  at  leisure.  While  the 
failure  to  include  back  stairs  may  cause  us  temporary  in- 
convenience, and  may  in  time  be  remedied,  the  style  of  our 
house  will  abide  with  us  for  the  rest  of  our  days,  and  if  we 
have  chosen  unwisely  in  our  haste  there  is  nothing  about  the 
whole  structure  that  may  become  so  insistently  repellent. 

There  is  a  bright  side  to  this  matter,  however,  which  I 
hasten  to  present.  The  man  who  has  studied  this  question 
of  style  and  weighed  the  arguments,  pro  and  con,  with  the 
care  their  importance  deserves,  may  make  his  choice  with  a 
fair  assurance  that  he  is  not  only  on  the  right  road,  but  that 
the  farther  he  travels  it  the  more  interesting  and  attractive 
it  will  become.  He  is  constantly  finding  new  interest  in  the 
architectural  style  he  has  adapted  as  being  best  suited  to 
his  needs  and  desires  —  so  much  so  that  the  road  ahead  is  too 
attractive  to  allow  him  for  a  moment  to  turn  back  in  the 


INTRODUCTION  8 

thought  that  he  may  have  chosen  the  wrong  way  at  the  fork- 
ing. 

It  is  with  the  aim  of  making  easier  the  choice  of  an  archi- 
tectural style  for  the  country  house  that  these  chapters  have 
been  written.  It  has  seemed  the  best  and  most  forceful 
stj^le  to  follow  in  a  way  the  debate,  allowing  the  case  of  each 
style  to  be  presented  as  strongly  as  an  enthusiastic  advocate 
could  devise.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  it  is  no  easy  task 
to  persuade  an  architect  to  argue  for  any  one  style  as  against 
all  others,  for  no  architect  really  believes  that  one  style  will 
be  the  proper  one  to  select  under  all  conditions.  For  the 
purpose  of  getting  all  the  facts  before  the  reader,  however, 
the  role  of  the  enthusiastic  advocate  has  been  courteously  as- 
sumed by  the  contributors,  to  whom  my  own  hearty  thanks, 
and  I  trust  those  of  the  reader  as  well,  are  hereby  given. 

These  argiunents  have  appeared  at  irregular  intervals  in 
House  and  Garden  and  it  is  believed  that  their  assembled 
pubhcation  in  this  more  enduring  form  can  scarcely  fail  to 
be  of  real  interest  and  value  to  the  man  who  would  build 
wisely  and  well. 

Heney  H.  Saylor 


l^he  Colonial  House 

By 

Frank  E.    Wallis 


The  Hoadley  homestead  at  Englewood.  N.  J. — where  the  architects  have  held 
"  closely  to  the  letter  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  Colonial  detail 


Uarry  B.  Kussell, 


A   corner  of   tlie   dining-room — formerlv   the   kitchen — in  the   remodeled   farmhouse 
Iwiiie  of  Harry  B.  Russell,  Pocasset,  Mass. 


The  Colonial  House 


THERE  are  basically  but  two  fundamental  types  of 
architecture,  and  all  the  numerous  sub-styles  are  va- 
riations of  these  two.  They  are  the  Classic  with  its 
child,  the  Renaissance,  and  that  marvelous  expression  of 
national  and  ideal  socialism,  the  GotBic,  which  has  come  to 
be  accepted  essentially,  though  not  necessarily,  as  church 
architecture. 

The  Greeks  invented  the  custom  of  tmdressing  before  re- 
tiring, an  invention  of  as  much  importance  as  the  telephone. 
When  the  Romans  absorbed  the  Greeks,  they  took  this 
most  domestic  of  habits,  the  night  dress  or  undress,  and  it 
developed  the  private  side  of  Roman  life  to  a  very  great 
degree,  giving  the  Roman  homes  a  new  spirit  of  domesticity 
and  privacy  with  architecture  to  correspond  —  courts,  semi- 
private  and  private,  surrounded  by  rooms  for  the  members 
of  the  family. 

And  later,  when  the  imspeakable  Turk  took  over  unto 
himself  the  city  of  Constantinople,  in  the  middle  of  the  fif- 
teenth century,  he  forced  the  later  Greek  with  his  ancient 
culture  westward  again  to  Italy,  and  this  migration  added 
a  new  inspiration  to  the  jaded  minds  of  the  architects  of 


8    ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

Europe,  at  that  time  exhausted  by  excesses  in  the  use  of  the 
flamboyant  type  of  Gothic.  So  we  have  the  Renaissance 
and  another  impetus  to  the  development  of  refined  architec- 
ture along  classic  lines. 

France  discovered  the  Renaissance  in  Italy  about  the 
time  of  Francis  I  and  developed  it  amazingly  in  the  cha- 


First  and  second  floor  plans,  the  home  of  Mr.  Joseph  Y.  Jeanes,  Villa  Nova,  Pa. 
Charles  Barton  Keen,  architect 

teaux.  But  the  French  were  not  then  a  domestic  type  of 
people,  and  their  palatial  chateaux  can  mean  little  to  the 
home-builders  of  America;  whereas  the  Englisliman  built 
for  his  wife  and  family,  and  later,  when  colonizing,  wife, 
baby,  axe  and  gun  were  with  him.  So  that  his  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Renaissance  is  a  fine  expression  of  dignity, 
truth  and  domestic  virtue.     Tliis  is  the  Georgian  or  Colon- 


THE  COLONIAL  HOUSE  9 

ial,  the  only  type  for  our  kind  and  for  our  children.  The 
Englishman  had  got  it  from  the  French  and  the  Italian, 
but  he  inoculated  it  with  the  spirit  of  the  hearth,  and  made  it 
his  forever.  During  the  reign  of  the  bourgeois  Georges  in 
England,  the  people  themselves  set  the  pace  in  style  devel- 
opment. These  kings  were  uneducated,  coarse-grained  and 
foreigners  —  and,  because  of  this,  exercised  no  influence  over 


L  IF=1-  . 

— 

"t 

^^. 

^ 

1"  Floor 

Plan 

' 

r\ 

u 

Z^'floor   Plan 

ffe 

n 

r  •  L 

-J      '      •        1 

Floor  plans  of  the  Hoadley  homestead,  Englewood,  N.  J. 
J.  Acker  Hays  and  Charles  W.  Hoadley,  architects 


the  development  of  the  style  then  being  analyzed  and  used 
by  such  men  as  Christopher  Wren,  Chambers  and  Jones. 
These  men  studied  in  France  and  Italy,  and  the  works  of 
Palladio,  Vignola  and  the  other  Itahan  worthies  became 
household  tomes.  The  Roman  and  Grecian  orders  were 
studied  and  apphed  with  a  freedom  that  was  truly  British. 
England  is  full  of  the  results  —  doorways,  over-mantels, 
cornices  and  what  not,  but,  best  of  all,  the  planning  of  the 
homes  of  tliis  period  reached  the  highest  point  in  domestic 
architecture.     Utilitarianism  and  Art  were  happily  married. 


10    ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

and  My  Lady  received  in  a  real  reception-room.  The  din- 
ing-room and  withdrawing-room  and  the  parlor  took  their 
proper  places,  and  performed  their  natural  functions.  My 
Lady's  boudoir  was  as  domestic  and  proper,  let  us  hope,  in 
every  sense,  as  the  kitchen  and  butteries. 

This  style  and  this  period  belong  to  us  —  we  call  it  Colon- 
ial —  and,  as  we  study  it,  we  can  see  the  human  qualities 
sticking  out  of  it  everywhere. 

For  a  gentleman  of  taste,  for  a  lady  of  discernment,  the 
Colonial  is  the  only  fitting  eninronment.  In  it  there  is  no 
deceit  or  sham.  It  will  ring  true  throughout  your  time, 
and,  if  properly  developed  and  studied,  the  style  will  grow 
and  take  to  itself  new  dignities  and  new  beauties,  as  it  comes 
through  new  interpreters.  It  was  in  this  way  that  the 
quaint,  local  characteristics  of  the  Colonial  we  know,  grew 
through  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  architects  or  joiners  of 
that  time.  They  studied  the  old  authorities  for  the  law, 
and  when  they  became  pastmasters  of  these  laws  they  used 
their  own  individual  invention  as  they  jolly  well  pleased. 

The  limitations  of  the  time  also  had  much  to  do  in  creating 
sub-types.  For  example,  it  was  impossible  to  make  glass 
in  large  sheets,  so  we  have  small  panes  as  a  characteristic  of 
the  style.  They  were  limited  also  in  pigments,  using  most 
frequently  reds  or  yellows,  though  the  charming,  home-lov- 
ing atmosphere  of  most  of  the  work  of  this  period  is  better 
expressed  in  the  white. 


Tlie    Paddock 

splendid  digti 


plain 


1  . 


THE  COLONIAL  HOUSE  11 

I  venture  to  say  that  most  of  you  who  read  this  have,  at 
some  time  or  other,  dreamed  of  retiring  for  your  mellow- 
dotage  to  some  old  white  clapboarded  house,  set  a  little  back 
from  the  street,  with  elms  shading  the  front,  a  fence  of 
square  pickets,  cut  along  the  top  in  sweeping  curves,  and 
a  swinging  gate,  chained  and  balanced  in  its  swing  with  an 
old  cannon  ball.  Hollyhocks,  petunias,  verbenas  and  old- 
fashioned  pinks  border  the  herring-bone  brick  walk  up  to 
the  portico  —  a  pediment  portico  or  one  with  upper  balcony, 
it  matters  little.  You  insist,  however,  on  having  the  fluted 
Doric  or  Corinthian  colunms,  with  flat  pilasters  against  the 
wall  framing  the  arched  doorway  —  an  eUiptic  arch,  please, 
with  radiating  divisions  in  iron  and  httle  lead  roses  at  the 
intersections. 

Will  you  have  a  brass  knocker  or  do  you  prefer  a  cut- 
glass  door-knob,  with  the  wire  rimning  to  the  back  of  the 
beflowered  hall  and  ending  in  a  coil  of  wire  and  large  brass 
bell?  Let's  have  both.  And  then,  as  we  enter,  we  are  de- 
lighted with  the  sweet  incense  of  the  rose  jar,  which  seems 
to  come  from  every  corner;  and  then  the  delicate  Adam  hat 
table,  presided  over  by  the  old  gilt  mirror  with  the  curved 
and  broken  pediment,  and  the  flamboyant  eagle  seems  to 
reflect  our  pleasure.  I  often  wondered,  as  a  boy,  why  that 
eagle  looked  so  happy  and  yet  never  moved. 

Then  there  must  be  the  staircase  with  the  double  twist  in 
the  newel  post,  the  dark  mahogany  hand-rail  —  such  a  de- 


12  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

lightful  sliding  place,  a  charming  portrait  of  a  lady  with 
head-dress  and  cashmere  shawl,  a  sampler  or  so,  and  the 
stern  forbidding  old  gentleman  with  his  forefingers  stuck 
in  the  breast  of  his  high-necked  coat.  We  might  continue 
to  My  Lady's  chamber  floor,  or  wander  through  the  dining- 
room,  open  up  the  slatted  shutters  for  a  little  light,  so  that 
we  may  see  the  conch  shells  on  either  side  of  a  befluted  man- 
tel, china  dogs,  white  with  iridescent  black  spots,  and  always 
staring  straight  ahead  at  the  other  dog  on  the  opposite  end 
of  the  mantel.  I  always  thought  the  old  ship  model,  with 
its  stiff  American  flag  on  the  poop,  rather  frightened  them 
and  kept  them  apart. 

Come  into  the  library.  We  don't  care  much  for  the  par- 
lor. In  the  house  of  dreams  this  room  is  going  to  be  opened 
up  at  all  times,  and  not  only  for  weddings  and  funerals. 
But  we  must  not  miss  the  library ;  books  behind  glass  doors 
reacliing  to  the  ceiling,  in  Chippendale  cabinets  of  mahog- 
any, and  leather  —  smelly  book  leather  —  and  we  must  have 
a  Franklin  stove  with  brass  balls  and  spread  eagles  —  but 
we  do  really  want  that  sort  of  thing.  Now  please  tell  me 
why  ^— ■  or  shall  I  repeat  what  I  have  already  said  ?  That 
type  of  house  represents  dignity,  education,  cultivation  and 
home,  as  no  other  style  devised  by  man  can  do.  It  is  the 
apogee  of  civilized  domestic  architecture.  Your  kiddies 
will  grow  up  here  with  respect  for  the  truth  and  an  admira- 
tion for  gentle  cultivation.     You  the  mother  and  you  the 


THE  COLONIAL  HOUSE  13 

father  will  go  about  your  several  duties  with  the  assurance 
of  being  properly  garbed  for  all  occasions,  and  you  will 
welcome  the  coming  and  sigh  with  the  parting  guest.  Is 
this  not  your  dream? 

The  man's  house  —  his  castle  —  where  his  kiddies  have 
the  measles,  and  his  daughter  marries  (not  in  the  parlor), 
and  his  son  grows  to  college  years,  and  carries  away  with  his 
grit,  along  with  his  sister,  the  memory  of  home.  Imagine, 
if  you  dare,  this  being  done  with  that  monstrosity,  the  so- 
called,  misnamed  "  Mission  "  with  its  wooden  walls,  wire 
lath  and  stucco. 

I  cannot  think  of  any  other  fit  style  for  a  house,  except 
Elizabethan,  which  has  much  of  the  classic  —  enough  to  save 
it,  and  the  Tudor,  which  also  leans  in  a  most  suggestive 
manner  toward  the  same  influence.  There  is,  of  course, 
nothing  in  the  way  of  a  French  domestic  style  —  and  what 
have  you  left? 

There  are  two  dominating  types  of  the  classic  in  this 
country,  though  they  overlap  and  slip  the  one  into  the  other 
in  the  most  interesting  manner.  Each  district  or  township 
has  its  peculiarities.  The  two  predominant  factors  were 
the  Puritan  or  Roundhead  (a  synonym  for  hard-head)  and 
the  Cavalier  or  gentry  of  England.  The  influence  of  the 
Dutch  is  shght  and  the  type  of  William  Penn  differed  lit- 
tle from  his  neighbor  of  New  England.  In  the  extreme 
north  and  south  were  the  Latins,  who  had  little  influence. 


14     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

While  the  Latins  were  brilliant,  they  did  not  have  the  stay- 
ing qualities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon. 

We  have,  therefore,  the  two  types  with  the  local  varia- 
tions and  traditions  of  caste  and  religion  as  influences.  Re- 
member, also,  that  the  element  of  trade,  which  settled  the 
coast  and  the  rivers,  helped  to  combine  the  ship  carver  or 
joiner  with  the  landsman,  and  that  prosperity,  which  always 
comes  because  of  trade,  allowed  this  type  to  develop  faster 
towards  a  more  finished  product.  They  were  travelers  also, 
and,  of  course,  took  advantage  of  their  opportunities. 

New  England  is,  or  was,  primarily  Massachusetts  and 
the  smaller  states  along  the  Sound.  The  best  examples  of 
our  style  in  the  north  are  within  a  radius  of  one  hundred 
miles  of  the  city  of  Boston,  though  I  have  found  most  beau- 
tiful examples  of  Christopher  Wren  churches  and  of  squire's 
houses,  with  delightful  detail,  in  the  remote  towns  of  north- 
ern New  England.  And,  of  course,  when  we  examine  the 
Berkshdres,  we  find  evidence  of  wealth  and  culture  also. 
Long  Island  got  some  of  this  New  England  influence, 
though  we  will  discover  a  subtle  change  taking  place  in  New 
York  State  —  an  influence  which  is  traceable  to  the  rem- 
nants of  the  Dutch  temperament.  This  extends  through- 
out Jersey,  and  loses  itself  in  another  shade  in  Pennsylvania. 
The  Philadelphians  had  the  same  separate  and  distinct  color 
that  we  have  found  among  the  Boston  people.  The 
Swedes,  Quakers  and  Shakers,  and  what-nots  of  that  sort. 


New    IngKiiul 


ere  clapboards   and   shingles,  in 
k«nrk   of  the   South 


J? 

m 

^H 

-.^ 

H^n 

iM 

I 

B 

A   real  ('(iloMlal   garden  in  "Oak  Hill,"   Pealiody,  JIass. 


THE  COLONIAL  HOUSE  15 

have  left  local  colorings  throughout  Delaware,  West  Penn- 
sylvania and  South  Jersey.  Then  we  begin  to  slip  softly 
into  another  distinct  area  before  we  reach  the  Virginian  or 
the  Cavalier  gentleman.  Baltimore  and  its  environs  is  some- 
thing of  the  South,  a  little  bit  of  New  England,  Jacobite 
and  Roundhead.  And  then  the  delightful  atmosphere  of 
the  Middle  South,  the  tobacco-producing  and  slave-using 
country,  with  its  feudal  lords  and  great  plantations. 

The  people  are  mostly  of  the  same  breed  as  the  Northern- 
ers, but  with  gentler  blood,  and  a  more  continued  and  inti- 
mate association  with  the  progress  going  on  in  the  mother 
coimtry;  people  educated  more  in  the  fancies  of  life,  possi- 
bly, than  in  the  facts,  as  were  the  more  austere  type  of  the 
North,  but  still  English  and  loyal  to  the  Crown. 

The  Colonial  gentlemen  used  brick  for  the  walls,  with  the 
Flemish  bond,  a  "  header  "  and  "  stretcher,"  a  method  of 
bonding  intended  for  a  two-brick-thick  wall,  as  the  header 
properly  ties  and  appears  on  both  faces.  These  headers 
frequently  being  used  as  arch  brick,  coming  near  the  fire  in 
the  kiln,  were  darker  and  were  laid  with  wide  joints,  which 
was  not  an  aiFectation,  shell  lime  not  finely  ground  calhng 
for  a  coarse  mixture  in  the  mortar.  At  the  levels  where 
floor  beams  are  supported  by  the  wall,  you  will  notice  a  pro- 
jection or  band,  and  in  the  gables,  a  twisted  scrap  of  iron, 
which  ties  through  the  brickwork  into  the  framing  and  pre- 
vents spreading. 


16  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

While  brick  walls  were  the  most  substantial,  of  course, 
of  the  many  materials  used,  local  conditions  governed  the 
selection  to  a  great  extent.  Oftentimes  these  brick  came 
over  as  ballast.  In  districts  where  stone  was  plentiful, 
quarries  were  opened  up,  the  stones  laid  with  the  same  wide 
joints,  and,  in  some  cases,  plastered  over  the  entire  surface. 
In  lumber  districts,  of  course,  you  naturally  find  the  use  of 
wood  in  the  form  of  clapboards  or  shingles. 

The  gambrel-roof  type  is  early,  and  slowly  disappeared 
in  the  more  distinguished  forms  of  hip  and  gable  roof, 
though  this  form  of  roof  allows  more  space  and  head  room 
in  the  attic  for  the  storage  of  hat  boxes,  wedding  gowns, 
beds  and  what  not.  And,  by  the  way,  the  combination  of 
a  rainy  day,  a  Colonial  attic,  and  the  neighbor's  children, 
will  create  a  memory  that  time  can  never  efface.  The  Se- 
cret Drawer  in  Graham's  "  Golden  Age  "  has  the  spirit. 
Read  it. 

These  old  people  believed  in  the  use  of  plain  wall  sur- 
faces for  the  exterior,  with  the  embellishments  provided  at 
the  proper  supporting  points.  First  came  correct  propor- 
tion, then  the  making  of  the  entrance  doorway,  ornamented 
as  a  focal  center.  The  cornice  with  the  classic  forms  of  dec- 
oration received  equal  attention,  and  wth  a  Palladian  round- 
arch  and  mullion  window,  lighting  the  stair  landing  or  sec- 
ond-story hallway,  and  the  careful  consideration  of  the 
dormer  windows,  you  have  the  entire  secret.     In  the  South  ^f. 


THE  COLONIAL  HOUSE  17 

we  find  the  colonnade  extending  through  two  stories,  of 
stately  columns  capped  with  Corinthian  or  Ionic  capitals, 
and  supporting  a  projecting  roof  and  pediment.  This 
form  varies,  as  you  may,  if  you  wish,  pilaster  the  face  of  the 
wall,  breaking  the  cornice,  and  increasing  its  beauties  at  the 
points  of  support.  You  should' not  be  hampered  by  prece- 
dent, however.  Knowing  the  laws  of  style  and  proportion, 
and  with  an  appreciation  of  the  human,  you  may  play  — 
and,  as  a  matter  of  growth,  you  should.  Study  the  local 
atmosphere,  and  design,  as  did  the  old  chaps.  The  combi- 
nation of  line  and  mass  and  variation  of  detail  and  orna- 
ment are  not  exhausted  by  any  means. 

As  to  the  interior:  give  the  family  a  large  room  on  the 
left  of  the  hall,  with  a  real  fireplace  and  a  paneled  mantel 
to  the  corniced  ceiling,  cupboards  concealed  in  the  wood- 
work, for  the  surplus  poker  and  wood-box;  a  low  dado  or 
a  high  wainscot,  careful  selection  of  the  details  of  the  trim 
and  the  wall  coverings,  comfortable  davenport  and  strong- 
legged  table  for  the  home  lessons. 

On  the  opposite  side,  the  reception  or  music  room  in  the 
cool  style  of  the  brothers  Adam;  beyond,  in  the  wing,  the 
library  or  dining-room,  with  the  proper  appurtenances 
thereof  —  light,  air  and  ease  of  communication,  proper 
orientation,  and  the  usual  consideration  given  to  these  utili- 
tarian motives  by  any  conscientious  and  studious  practi- 
tioner. 


18  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

From  your  large  family  room  on  the  left  you  may  have 
French  wandows  opening  on  a  brick-paved  terrace,  veith  the 
supporting  columns,  or  pilasters,  and  a  second-story  projec- 
tion, or  not,  as  you  choose;  steps  to  the  box-bordered  and 
grass-pathed  rose  garden;  crimson  ramblers  at  the  porch 
and  the  wild  pink  rose  on  the  border  of  the  garden,  where 
considered  wildness  begins. 

Throw  away  the  grape  arbor,  disdain  the  formal  garden, 
eliminate  the  water  pool  with  the  green  frog,  forget  the 
sun-dial,  close  up  the  attic,  decorate  your  walls  with  "  ar- 
tistic "  burlaps,  furnish  the  house  with  that  most  distressing 
type  of  furniture,  the  bilious-green  JNIission,  and  you  will 
find  yourself  far  removed  from  refinement,  from  truth  and 
from  all  the  evidence  of  cultivated  human  sentiment.  Un- 
der these  conditions,  you  must,  of  course,  give  up  your 
dainty  table  napery  and  cut  glass  or  bits  of  old  china. 
Your  old  silver  must  be  put  away,  packed  in  a  Mission 
wood-box,  with  affected  hammered  iron  straps  and  handles. 
Lovely,  isn't  it? 

Can  you  find  any  type  that,  equally  with  the  Colonial, 
A\all  set  off  My  Lady's  house-go^\Tis  on  the  second  floor,  and 
her  dinner  gowns  on  the  first,  or  that  will  better  suit  the 
austere  lines  of  man's  evening  clothes?  The  housemaids 
themselves  are  influenced  in  their  manners  and  service,  and 
can  you  not  realize  how  the  kiddies  absorb  unconsciously  a 
keener  appreciation  of  the  finer  things  of  life  ?    Again,  and 


iitifully   i-arveil   d(X)rway   in   the 
Oliver   liuuse,   Salem 


THE  COLONIAL  HOUSE  19 

finally,  the  axiom  —  please  say  it  for  me!  —  the  Colonial 
type  typifies  the  gentlest,  the  purest  and  the  most  human  of 
all  domestic  styles. 

The  cost  of  production  has  some  bearing  on  the  subject, 
with  the  continued  cost  of  maintenance  —  and  here  again 
the  Colonial  leads  as  the  most  economical  on  first  cost  and 
continued  care.  In  house  building,  brains  are  the  cheapest 
commodity  on  the  market  and  the  most  necessary  part  of 
the  details  of  construction.  You  may  see  for  yourself,  if 
you  wish,  that  a  rectangle  with  plain  surfaces,  with  wings 
or  with  the  entire  house  confined  under  one  roof,  is  the  more 
economical  thing  to  do,  as  compared  with  angles,  bays, 
turns  and  quirks,  which  cost  labor,  waste  material  in  the 
building,  and  add  to  the  cost  of  maintenance  in  repairs  in 
the  many  other  styles.  And,  in  the  planning,  if  you  will 
study  for  direct  perpendicular  bearings,  for  spans,  without 
cozy  corners  —  a  la  Mission  —  and  without  inserts  or  out- 
serts,  you  may,  when  once  begun,  proceed  with  wall  and 
floor  timbers,  without  stopping  the  labor  for  adjustments, 
and  for  a  new  method  or  material. 

When  once  carefully  laid  out,  a  house  of  this  style  should 
proceed  continuously  without  break,  or  continued  consulta- 
tions with  foreman  or  contractor.  You  need  less  labor,  and 
less  raw  material  of  different  sorts.  In  consequence,  the 
road  is  straight  and  the  cost  per  cubic  foot  is  less. 

A  revival  of  the  classic  forms  in  the  designing  of  our  fed- 


20     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

era!  buildings  has  taken  place  in  the  last  few  years,  and  the 
style  is  being  widely  adopted  for  local  public  and  semi-pub- 
lic institutions,  much  to  the  betterment  of  our  cities  and 
towns.  This  is  merely  proving  my  assertion  that  the 
classic  styles  are  the  most  expressive  of  our  national  life. 
Out  of  them,  undoubtedly,  the  "  American  style  "  of  the  fu- 
ture will  be  evolved,  as  it  was  in  the  case  of  the  Colonial  in 
earlier  times.  I  beheve  a  new  and  better  era  in  architecture 
is  with  us.  In  domestic  building  Ave  are  slower  to  return  to 
those  excellent  classic  models  of  which  we  should  be  so 
proud,  but  a  Colonial  re-vaval  —  not  a  faddish  copying,  but 
a  sincere  and  studied  acceptance  of  our  most  precious  archi- 
tectural heritage  —  is  a  thing  to  be  hopefully  and  prayer- 
fully looked  forward  to. 


i:he 

Modern  English  Plaster  Houses 

By 
J.  Lovell  Little,  Jr, 


G.  0.   Harding,  architect 
The   Jacques   house,    Lenox,   Mass.,    illustrates   the   harmonious   way   in 
wliioh   this   type   blends   into   the   surrounding   foliage 


Charles  A.   Piatt,  arehilet 


The     Henry     Howard     residence     in     Brookline,     Mass.,     combines    the 

Colonial  fence  and  classic  doorway  with  the  general 

niMss    of    an    English  'house 


Modern  English  Plaster  Houses 

WHEN  I  was  asked  to  write  one  of  a  series  of  argu- 
ments, each  advocating  a  particular  style  of  ar- 
chitecture for  the  country  or  suburban  home,  I 
protested.  I  said  it  was  foolish  to  try  to  prove  that  one 
style  or  another  is  the  only  one  in  which  to  build  a  house. 
The  word  style  loomed  large  in  the  foreground;  horrid 
with  all  its  arbitrary  importance,  and  exceedingly  independ- 
ent and  pompous  on  account  of  the  adulation  and  attention 
which  it  is  always  receiving  from  the  public.  I  started  to 
explain  to  the  editor  that  style  is  a  growth,  a  long  painful 
process  of  evolution;  brought  about  by  the  life  of  the  peo- 
ple that  has  developed  and  perfected  it,  and  not  an  arbi- 
trary attribute  to  be  bought  and  sold.  You  know  the  argu- 
ment; for  no  doubt  you  have  cornered  an  architect  and 
asked  him  some  poser  about  style,  and  he  has  retired  behind 
this  well  worn  armor ;  but  I  gave  it  up  and  said  —  well, 
never  mind  what  I  said,  but  I  accepted  the  invitation  to 
argue  for  a  style. 

I  was  not  only  to  argue  for  a  style  but  I  was  to  present 
an  enthusiastic  argument.  So  at  this  stage  in  the  game  I 
was  committed  to  do  sometliing  that  I  didn't  believe  in  do- 


24  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ing,  and  do  it  enthusiastically  at  that.  I  was  to  stand  up 
and  say,  "  You  must  build  your  house  in  this  style  or  not 
at  all."  I  was  to  be  uncompromising  in  favor  of  a  certain 
fashion.     I  had  begged  the  editor  to  let  me  "  hedge  "  a  ht- 


First  floor  plan,  the  home  of  Howard  Van  Doren  Shaw,  architect. 
Lake  Forest,  111. 


tie,  and  I  wrote  him  some  very  sound  truths  on  tolerance, 
but  he  scorned  them. 

Then  he  told  me  that  I  should  present  the  case  for  the 
Modern  Enghsh  Plaster  House.  He  knew  I  liked  the  mod- 
ern Enghsh  house  and  he  played  to  my  weakness.  I  still 
pretended  to  be  disgusted,  but  I  no  longer  worried,  for  I 
saw  a  great  light,  and  I  hope  now  to  show  why  I  felt  that 
my  troubles  were  over. 

In  "  A  Dictionary  of  Arcliitecture  and  Building  "  hj 


MODERN  ENGLISH  PLASTER  HOUSES  25 

Russell  Sturgis,  there  are  two  definitions  of  "  Style  "  in  the 
following  order  of  importance. 

"  I.  Character;  the  sum  of  many  peculiarities,  as  when 
it  is  said  that  a  building  is  in  a  spirited  style.  By  extension, 
significance,  individuality;  especially  in  a  good  sense  and  im- 


Second  floor  plan,  the  home  of  Howard  Van  Doren  Shaw,  architect. 
Lake  Forest,  III. 

puted  as  a  merit,  as  in  the  expression  '  Such  a  building  has 
style.' 

"  II.  A  peculiar  type  of  building,  or  ornament,  or  the 
like,  and  constituting  a  strongly  marked  and  easily  distin- 
guished group  or  epoch  in  the  history  of  art " 

There  is  more  of  this  second  definition,  but  this  is  enough 
to  show  its  meaning;  it  is  a  type,  a  fashion.  I  might  have 
added  to  the  sentence  quoted,  "  such  as  the  American  Co- 
lonial Architecture,"  by  way  of  further  explanation. 


26     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

But  turn  to  the  first  definition  and  read  it  again,  carefully. 
It  is  a  big,  broad  definition.  You  will  find  three  words 
worthy  of  note:  "  Character,"  "  Significance,"  "  Individual- 
ity " —  qualities  well  worth  finding  in  a  house. 

I  am  going  to  try  to  point  out  the  value  of  these  qualities, 
and  to  show  you  that  the  modern  English  house,  with  all 
its  faults  (and  to  an  American  these  are  not  a  few),  com- 
bines these  three  qualities  to  a  greater  extent  than  do  the 
average  houses  of  our  own  and  other  countries.  Finally,  I 
should  like  you  to  consider  how  similar  are  our  own  needs  and 
tastes  when  we  want  a  home. 

Character  in  house  architecture  means  that  the  building 
inside  and  out  shall  have  domestic  qualities  and  suggest, 
more  than  all,  a  home. 

Significance  I  understand  to  be  the  successful  harmonizing 
of  the  needs  of  the  client  with  the  natural  setting  of  the 
house;  in  other  words,  it  is  the  logical  solution  of  the  prob- 
lem, that  brings  peace  and  comfort  to  the  occupants  of  the 
house,  and  gives  an  outsider  the  pleasure  that  one  has  in 
any  well  balanced  view  or  picture. 

Individuality  is  more  or  less  the  result  of  character  and 
significance,  and  is  greatly  influenced  by  the  relation  of  the 
architect. 

Now  Colonial  houses  have  character;  no  one  will  deny 
that;  and  very  charming  it  is,  but  it  is  the  character  of  the 
past.     In  his  definition  of  the  Colonial,  Russell  Sturgis  says 


The  dining-room  in  an  English  count rv  home  reunKleled  from 
Xorinan  chai)e! 


lx\    A.'.-hh.r,    architect 
fourteenth  century 


MODERN  ENGLISH  PLASTER  HOUSES  27 

in  part  that  it  is  the  architecture  of  the  Colonies,  "  especially 
in  American  use,  that  which  prevailed  in  the  British  settle- 
ments in  America  previous  to  1776,  and  by  extension  and  be- 
cause the  style  cannot  be  distinctly  separated  into  chronolog- 
ical periods,  as  late  as  the  beginning  of  the  present  century," 
etc. 

There  are  many  times  that  a  client  comes  to  one  and  asks  to 
have  a  Colonial  house,  for  it  is  justly  a  popular  type  of 
American  domestic  architecture.  The  arcliitect  must  set 
about  to  adapt  the  Colonial  type  to  modern  and  special  re- 
quirements. The  difficulty  is  perhaps  best  illustrated  in  the 
preceding  chapter  devoted  to  the  Colonial  style,  where  the 
author  pictures  the  house  and  its  rooms.  What  does  he  do? 
He  draws  a  delightful  picture  of  days  and  customs  gone  by 
and  places  "  My  Lady "  in  a  lovely  frame.  But  "  My 
Lady  "  is  not  a  modern  American  woman.  No  doubt  she 
still  exists,  and,  when  a  specimen  of  her  is  found,  give  her 
the  Colonial  house  by  all  means  without  a  question.  She  will 
w^ant  it,  she  will  be  fitted  to  care  for  it ;  in  short,  to  give  it  to 
her  is  the  solution  of  the  problem  in  this  particular  case. 

Colonial  house  architecture  to-day  lacks  significance,  ex- 
cept in  special  cases.  That  is  the  truth  of  the  matter.  It  is 
the  architecture  of  a  more  aristocratic  time,  the  architecture 
of  men  and  women  who  lived  more  formally  and  with  less 
of  American  independence  than  we  do  to-day.  It  isn't  demo- 
cratic, as  we  are  democratic  and  as  even  the  average  English- 


28     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

man  is  democratic.  Take  for  example  the  informal  out-of- 
door  nfe,  Math  its  varied  sports  and  occupations,  shared  alike 
by  the  whole  family.  This  kind  of  life  is  being  lived  by  an 
ever-increasing  nvmiber  of  people  in  this  country,  and  it  is 
producing  a  different  style  of  architecture  than  that  which 
prevailed  a  century  ago. 

Where  can  j'ou  find  any  close  relationsliip  between  this 
ver}^  vital  characteristic  of  our  modern  life  and  the  life  of 
Colonial  days?  The  whole  scheme  of  life  was  more  formal. 
The  modern  problem  of  domestic  service  did  not  present 
itself.  The  great  families  in  the  South  and  in  the  North  had 
their  slaves,  their  trained  servants,  and  even  in  the  average 
household  there  remained  some  traditions  of  English  formal- 
ity, of  aristocratic  rather  than  democratic  life.  To-day  in 
most  households  life  is  entirely  different.  The  younger  gen- 
erations have  much  more  independence  and  it  is  the  era  of  in- 
dividual development.  To-day  our  children  conform  less  to 
any  formal  routine  of  the  household  than  at  any  other  time 
in  our  history.  They  and  their  friends  share  with  us  the 
informal  life  of  work  and  play  at  home.  There  is  a  great 
movement  towards  the  country  and,  whether  large  or  small, 
American  suburban  and  countiy  houses  reflect  the  trend  of 
our  life. 

All  this  makes  for  a  new  type  of  house;  a  house  ^vith  at 
least  one  large  living-room  that  typifies  the  Hfe  of  the  house- 
hold.    There  is  no  other  one  room  in  the  house  that  can  eco- 


idcr  tlu-  iileasii 


E.   Mtilliiir.i,  architect 
ict*   mul   comfort  to 


MODERN  ENGLISH  PLASTER  HOUSES  29 

nomically  balance  this  in  size,  and  it  is  this  one  fact  that  is 
largely  responsible  for  the  gradual  growth  of  a  type  of  house 
that  is  comparatively  new  to  us. 

No,  the  Colonial  style  is  not  significant  to-day.  The  plan 
with  its  central  hall  and  four  corner  rooms  is  economical,  no 
doubt,  but  it  is  the  economy  of  the  bargain  counter,  masmuch 
as  one  is  getting  more  than  one's  money's  worth  of  something 
one  doesn't  want.  The  type  must  always  be  twisted  and 
turned  to  fit  changed  conditions,  or  the  client  must  be  molded 
to  fit  the  frame. 

I  have  dwelt  somewhat  at  length  on  the  inadequacy  of  the 
Colonial  in  itself  because  it  is  the  most  serious  rival  of  the 
style  I  am  championing.  It  has  tradition,  dignity  and 
charm;  it  still  has  character  and  individuality  to  some  extent, 
but  only  occasionally  does  it  have  significance.  Perhaps  I 
am  too  hard  on  this  style,  for  I  find  myself  trying  at  times 
to  qualify  my  statements,  but  please  remember  that  I  am 
dealing  with  the  subject  in  a  general  way  and  must  treat  it 
generally.  I  must  not  dwell  too  long  on  the  many  delight- 
ful examples  of  Colonial  houses  that  I  know.  I  must  over- 
look the  fact  that  I  was  brought  up  in  a  Colonial  house,  and 
I  must  stick  to  the  point,  which  is  that  the  modern  English 
house  hits  the  nail  on  the  head  more  often  than  any  other 
style  of  house. 

I  have  just  fallen  a  victim  to  the  word  "  style  "  in  its  sense 
of  "  a  peculiar  type  of  building,"  which  leads  me  to  state 


30    'ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

here  that  I  am  not  arguing  for  the  Modern  Enghsh  Plaster 
House,  per  se,  but  for  the  house  with  character,  significance 
and  individuality,  and  I  must  now  justify  my  statement  that 
the  Modern  English  Plaster  House  has  these  qualities  highly 
developed. 

First,  to  get  the  plaster  part  of  my  title  settled.  No 
doubt  the  insertion  of  this  word  was  a  pitfall  designed  to 
limit  my  field  of  examples,  but  I  hope  to  make  it  serve  a 
useful  turn. 

"  Plaster  "  is  exterior  plaster,  stucco;  a  durable  wall  cover- 
ing vnth  a  hmited  range  of  color  possibihties,  and  a  variety 
of  textures.  It  is  comparatively  inexpensive  to  put  on,  easily 
and  cheaply  maintained,  and  forms  a  beautiful  background 
for  vines  and  shrubs,  harmonizing  with  all  natural  surround- 
ings. 

Wood  is  expensive,  but  it  is  stiU  the  cheapest  building  ma- 
terial under  average  conditions  in  the  East.  It  is  cheapest 
for  the  first  cost  of  a  house,  but  the  upkeep  of  wood  and 
paint  is  no  small  item,  and  a  material  that  after  the  first  cost 
will  successfully  stand  our  varied  climatic  changes  at  almost 
no  expense  to  the  householder  for  repairs,  is  well  worth  seri- 
ous consideration. 

A  wooden  frame  house,  with  exterior  plastering  on  gal- 
vanized wire  lath,  costs  about  three  per  cent,  more  than  a 
house  shingled  or  clapboarded.  This  extra  initial  cost  would 
not  go  far  towards  keeping  wood  finish  and  paint  in  good 


MODERN  ENGLISH  PLASTER  HOUSES      31 

repair.  Then,  too,  plaster  can  be  used  to  great  advantage 
as  a  covering  for  second-hand  or  old  brick,  a  material  that  is 
often  easily  and  cheaply  obtained.  It  can  be  applied  to 
houses  of  fireproof  construction,  such  as  brick,  hollow  tile,  or 
concrete.  Added  to  practical  reasons  are  artistic  ones  and 
the  greatest  of  these  is  simplicity.  This  should  be,  I  think, 
the  key-note  of  the  design  of  the  average  American  suburban 
or  country  house.  A  house  that  depends  on  its  proportions, 
on  the  spacing  and  arrangement  of  \rindow  openings  in  re- 
lation to  the  walls  in  which  they  come,  must  have,  perforce, 
character  and  individuality.  It  must  reflect  on  the  outside 
the  arrangement  of  rooms  inside.  It  must  be  logical,  and  if 
it  is  it  overcomes  one  of  the  great  defects  of  our  American 
houses,  namely,  the  attempt  to  appear  something  that  they 
are  not.  It  is  an  American  trait;  you  see  it  in  the  way  our 
servants  dress;  in  the  one-story  shop  with  a  shingled  front 
a  story  liigher;  and  it  is  a  vulgar  trait  that  we  seem  to  be 
outgrowing,  architecturally  at  least.  In  this  country  we 
have  countless  examples  of  houses  designed  and  placed  with- 
out regard  to  customs  and  surroundings;  but  with  a  "  style  " 
carefully  studied  and  historically  correct.  These  houses  lack 
something  above  all  else.  They  lack  the  quality  of  a  home. 
This  quality  is  one  which  is  preeminent  in  English  houses. 
It  is  apparent  to  the  man  who  views  them  from  the  outside, 
and  it  is  even  more  apparent  to  him  who  stays  for  any  length 
of  time  in  one  of  these  houses.     It  is  intensely  true  of  Eng- 


32  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

lish  houses  that  no  matter  how  big  the  house,  it  is  just  as 
domestic  and  home-like  when  ahnost  empty  as  it  is  when  full 
of  guests. 

Slowly  we  are  coming  to  a  realization  of  the  value  of  char- 
acter, significance  and  individuality  as  expressed  in  our 
houses.  Not  so  often  as  formerly  do  we  start  with  a  pre- 
conceived idea  of  the  exterior  of  our  house  and  then  try  to  fit 
our  rooms  into  this  shell. 

Independence  was  the  key-note  of  our  national  beginnings, 
but  it  didn't  extend  to  our  house-building.  Independence 
in  house-building  has  for  a  good  many  years  been  the  key- 
note of  English  domestic  architecture.  The  Englishman 
plans  his  house,  arranges  his  rooms  to  suit  himself,  and  if 
he  shows  his  independence  in  what  we  consider  an  absurd  ar- 
rangement of  his  dining-room  and  service  rooms,  it  isn't 
to  the  point,  for  what  I  want  to  show  is  that  when  he  has 
got  what  he  tliinks  will  make  him  a  comfortable  house,  he 
goes  ahead,  or  his  architect  does,  and  produces  an  exterior 
arrangement  that  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten  is  thoroughly 
charming. 

If  the  charm  of  these  English  houses  is  often  partly  due  to 
the  setting  of  trees,  shrubs  and  vines,  should  that  be  used  as 
an  argument  against  the  design  of  the  house?  Not  at  all, 
but  rather  let  us  consider  that  it  is  a  further  proof  of  skill, 
for  where  is  greater  skill  necessary  than  in  designing  in  such 
simple  forms  that  they  harmonize  with  informal  and  natural 


MODERN  ENGLISH  PLASTER  HOUSES  33 

arrangements  of  flowers  and  trees,  in  such  a  way  as  to  seem 
almost  a  part  of  the  landscape. 

The  houses  illustrated  here,  English  and  American,  are 
chosen  at  random,  and  are  essentially  types  of  average  houses 
such  as  the  most  of  us  might  build.  Some  of  them  are  as 
distinctly  English  as  others  are  American,  but  they  all  have 
character,  significance  and  individuality.  I  have  purposely 
passed  over  many  charming  examples  because  they  seemed 
to  owe  their  charm  to  some  special  feature  of  design  or  of 
setting. 

But  the  houses  which  are  illustrated  here  seem  to  me  to 
place  before  you  examples  of  the  results  obtainable  if  you 
will  start  house-building  unhampered  by  a  "  style."  I  have 
used  again  and  again  the  words  character,  significance  and 
individuality,  perhaps  beyond  the  limits  of  your  endurance, 
but  these  qualities  are  the  beginning  and  the  end  of  a  style. 
Russell  Sturgis  says  that  they  are  style,  and  that  is  exactly 
what  I  want  to  repeat  to  you.  Look  at  the  illustrations; 
the  houses  are  varied  in  type.  Most  of  them  are  irregular  in 
plan  and  consequently  in  elevation.  But  the  point  I  wish 
to  make  is  that  they  are  not  necessarily  so.  Look  at  the  in- 
teriors here  shown,  English  and  American.  Do  they  seem 
to  lack  the  quality  of  home  or  of  refinement? 

Start  unhampered  by  a  "  style."  Plan  and  build  a  home. 
Seek  to  express  in  your  house  your  needs  and  your  tastes, 
and  not  an  historical  reproduction.     Sentiment  for  the  past, 


34     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

for  traditions  —  yes  indeed,  lots  of  it.  But  reproduce  in  the 
spirit  of  Colonial  or  any  other  type  of  architecture  and  not 
in  the  form,  and  you  will  have  what  the  modern  English 
house  has  more  than  the  houses  of  any  other  country.  It  will 
not  matter  what  form  the  house  takes  or  how  closely  it  ap- 
proximates what  we  call  one  or  another  style.  It  will  have 
character,  significance  and  individuality  and  it  will  stand 
for  independence  of  thought  on  the  part  of  both  owner  and 
architect. 


T^he  Swiss  Chalet  Type 
By 

Louis  J,  S  tell  man 


The  Swiss  Chalet  Type 


ANY  type  of  architecture  which  has  a  genuine  appeal  to 
the  pubHc,  must  appeal  to  the  heart  as  well  as  to  the 
mind.  I  have  heard  it  said  that  the  appeal  of  architec- 
ture is  through  a  combination  of  memory  and  symbolism: 
that  is,  it  either  reminds  one  of  something  one  has  seen  or 
it  stands  for  the  traditions  which  the  advancement  of  civili- 
zation has  developed. 

If  one  accepts  this,  architecture  is  removed  from  the 
sordidness  of  mere  practicality  and  the  commonplacery  of 
pure  expediency.  A  structure  must  be  both  wholesome  and 
attractive ;  it  must  serve  our  needs  well  and,  at  the  same  time, 
remind  us  of  something  pleasant.  In  short  the  ideal  house 
must  simultaneously  protect  the  body  and  uplift  the  mind. 

Perhaps  this  may  seem  unnecessarily  long  a  prologue  for 
an  appreciation  of  the  Swiss  chalet  style  in  American  archi- 
tecture, but  it  is  because  this  style  satisfies  so  peculiarly  my 
demands  in  the  above  connection,  that  I  have  gone  to  some 
pains  in  order  to  make  them  clear  enough  to  serve  as  a  work- 
ing hypothesis. 

There  is  about  the  Swiss  chalet  a  rugged,  honest  pictur- 
esqueness,  a  simple,  candid  strength  that  I  find  in  no  other 


38  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

type  of  habitation.  Because  of  this  impression,  I  mention 
the  sentimental  consideration  first.  It  seems  to  typify  — 
as  plainly  as  a  house  can  ever  hope  to  represent  a  man  —  the 
hardy,  fearless,  simple  mountaineer  —  whose  life  is  spent 


First  and  second  floor  plans,  the  home  of  C.  W.  Robertson,  Nordhoff,  Cal. 
Myron  Hunt  and  Elmer  Grey,  architects 

among  the  heights  and  broad  vistas  and  who  lives  a  simple 
frugal,  happy,  sincere  life. 

It  is  too  much  to  suppose  that  the  Swiss  chalet  will  become 
extremely  popular  outside  of  its  Alpine  home.  There  is 
too  much  complexity  in  the  vastly  predominant  and  popu- 
lous lowlands  to  give  it  great  vogue,  too  much  tendency  to 
improve  on  nature  instead  of  cooperate  with  it,  to  scatter 
Swiss  chalets  through  the  land.  And  yet,  in  America,  es- 
pecially along  the  Western  coast,  the  Swiss  chalet  is  be- 
coming more  and  more  observed. 


.=3  5 


THE  SWISS  CHALET  TYPE  39 

Probably  there  is  no  place  outside  of  its  native  land  where 
the  Swiss  chalet  may  be  more  advantageously  used  than 
along  the  Pacific  coast  hills,  particularly  those  aroimd  San 
Francisco  Bay,  where  many  interesting  examples  are  to  be 
found. 

Of  course  there  is  little  snow  in  California  except  in  the 
extreme  northern  portions.  This  brings  us  to  a  considera- 
tion of  the  fact  that  climate  alone  did  not  produce  the  Swiss 
chalet.  Perhaps,  indirectly,  it  did,  after  all,  for  the  Swiss 
mountaineer  is  the  product  of  the  invigorating  climate  which 
the  Alps  provide.  But,  out  of  his  rugged,  honest,  sham-hat- 
ing, art-loving  heart  and  brain  has  come  that  picturesque 
style  of  habitation  which  is  as  nearly  distinctive  as  architec- 
ture may  be.  His  love  of  out-door  life  produced  the  broad 
veranda  (forerunner,  undoubtedly,  of  the  modern  winter- 
and-summer  sleeping-porch),  the  wide  eaves  to  protect  this 
veranda  and  the  court  below,  where  he  sat  of  an  evening  with 
his  pipe.  He  courted  the  open  at  all  times  possible,  this  old 
Tyrolese,  and  the  Californian  is  in  agreement  with  him,  as 
far  as  that  goes. 

But,  more  than  all  else,  the  Swiss  chalet  cooperates  with 
nature.  How  many  times  does  one  see  a  house  that  seems 
a  part  of  its  general  surroundings?  Usually  the  surround- 
ings are  fitted  to  the  house  with  the  inevitable  result  that  an 
incongruity,  more  or  less  blatant,  is  produced. 

Man  cannot  hope  to  compete  with  God  as  a  landscape 


40    ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

gardener  or  architect.  The  Swiss  mountaineer  felt  this, 
even  if  he  did  not  know  it.  He  made  no  attempt  to  terrace 
the  eternal  hills,  to  create  false  and  artificial  plateaus  upon 
which  to  build  a  conventional  dwelling.  He  made  a  part- 
ner of  Nature  and  worked  to  their  mutual  advantage.  Out 
of  it  came  an  architecture  which,  if  primitive,  was  big,  har- 
monious and  wholesome  to  a  wonderful  degree. 

The  original  Swiss  chalet  does  not  seem  to  have  been  built 
against  a  hillside.  Apparently  it  was  a  crude  log  cabin,  not 
unlike  the  huts  of  our  pioneer  ancestors,  erected  by  Alpine 
cowherds  for  more  or  less  temporary  shelter.  It  differed 
from  the  American  log  cabin  in  the  mortising  or  notching 
of  the  log  ends  and  the  rudimentary  attempts  to  square  and 
dress  the  timbers.  Out  of  this,  undoubtedly,  developed  the 
present  elaborate  system  of  dovetailing  and  fitting  together 
the  timbers  and  framework  of  Swiss  houses,  a  practically 
nail-less  construction  scheme. 

From  the  rough  habitation  of  the  cowherd  was  evolved  the 
vUlage  house,  slightly  more  pretentious  but  still  of  the  block- 
house construction;  and  being  adapted  to  the  exigencies  of 
hillside  construction,  it  was  so  modified  as  to  present  the  pro- 
genitor of  what  is  now  generally  known  as  a  chalet. 

Following  this  came  two  evolutionary  phases  of  building 
development  in  Switzerland,  characterized  respectively  as 
the  Standerwand  or  "  stand-wall "  and  the  Regal-bau  or 
masonry  construction.    The  latter,  however,  is  only  an  am- 


THE  SWISS  CHALET  TYPE  41 

plification  or  elaboration  of  the  former.  One,  if  not  both, 
of  these  unquestionably  inspired  the  steel-frame  method  of 
modern  construction. 

The  "  stand-wall "  style  of  construction  differs  from  the 
old  block  building  and,  for  that  matter,  from  most  other 
methods  of  building,  ancient  and  modern,  in  that  the  frame 
of  the  entire  house  is  outlined  by  corner-posts  and  a  skeleton 
roof  before  the  walls  are  built.  The  original  chalet,  there- 
fore, was  built  from  the  ground  up,  one  timber  being  laid 
on  top  of  another  and  dovetailed  into  a  nice  contact  with 
ends  that  protruded  beyond  the  intersecting  unions.  The 
second  type  of  chalet  was  completed  in  outline  and  then 
filled  in,  as  to  walls  and  roof,  with  wood,  plaster,  stone  or  a 
kind  of  light  brick,  as  fancy  or  necessity  might  indicate. 

Here  it  may  be  pertinent  to  remark  that  the  foregoing  re- 
fers to  the  characteristic  holzbau  or  wood  construction  of 
Switzerland.  In  a  country  so  prolific  in  stone,  however,  it  is 
inevitable  that  the  latter  be  used  to  some  extent  as  building 
material.  Therefore  the  stone  chalet  is  by  no  means  a  rare 
or  illegitimate  type,  and,  contrary  to  the  popular  belief,  a 
chalet  is  not  necessarily  a  wooden  house.  But  the  American 
adaptation  of  Swiss  Chalet  architecture  so  closely  adheres 
to  the  popular  conception  that  we  may  confine  ourselves 
largely  to  this  very  characteristic  sort. 

While  on  the  subject  of  American  adaptation,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  the  architects  of  this  country  seem  so  thor- 


42     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

oughly  to  have  understood  the  motif  of  Swiss  arcliitecture. 
Simplicity,  strength,  economj^  and  picturesque  harmony  with 
natural  surroundings,  mark  the  chalet  in  American  architec- 
ture even  more  perhaps  than  they  do,  nowadays,  in  Switzer- 
land, where  the  bizarre  influence  of  foreign  builders  has 
added  much  intricate  and  fussy  elaboration  in  the  trimming 
of  houses.  For  instance,  one  sees  on  most  Swiss  houses  of 
this  and  several  past  generations,  much  "  ginger-bread  "  or- 
namentation. Porch  roofs,  cornices,  doors,  windows,  often 
the  entire  front  of  a  chalet,  will  be  encrusted  with  jig-sawn 
fret,  grill  and  scroll  work,  incorporating  religious  or  family 
mottoes,  intricate  designs  and  every  sort  of  distracting  embel- 
lishment. It  reminds  one  not  a  little  of  a  wonderful  wedding 
cake  or  one  of  the  marvelous  performing  clocks  for  which 
Switzerland  is  famous.  But  under  it  all  is  the  sohd  worth, 
the  wholesome,  nourishing  delicious  product  of  the  baker's 
skill,  the  exact  and  reliable  chronological  instrument,  the 
house  that  satisfies  body  and  soul. 

It  is  tliis  underlying  theme  that  American  architects  have 
exemplified  in  Swiss  chalet  adaptation.  And,  for  the  most 
part,  the  chalet  has  retained  its  individuahty  to  a  great  ex- 
tent. A  number  of  Western  houses  are  exact  copies  of 
existing  Swiss  chalets,  notably  the  Reese  house  in  Berkeley, 
California,  which  was  designed  by  Maybeck  &  White  from 
a  small  model  of  the  Swiss  prototype  which  Reese  himself 
brought  across  the  ocean.     It  is,  as  will  be  seen  by  observing 


Willis  Polk,  areliiteet 
An    interior    in    .Mr,    I'cilk's    own    house.   Sail    Francisco,   showing   a   clever 
adaptation  of  the  Swiss  sawed-wood  balusters 


THE  SWISS  CHALET  TYPE  48 

the  accompanying  illustration,  of  the  old  hlock-hau  style, 
with  protruding  timbers  at  the  corners. 

Alameda  county,  which  includes  Berkeley,  Alameda,  Pied- 
mont and  Oakland,  and  which  abounds  in  hills,  furnishes 
many  fine  examples  of  Swiss  chalet  architecture  and  a  much 
larger  number  of  less  distinctive  ones  which  are,  nevertheless, 
of  more  than  passing  interest  and  display  quite  perceptibly 
their  relationship  to  the  architecture  of  the  Tyrol.  All  of 
these  follow  the  initial  style  more  than  the  later  ones,  prob- 
ably because  the  former  is  original  and  more  picturesque 
than  those  which  came  after,  and  also  because  the  redwood  of 
California  is  peculiarly  adaptable  to  chalet  building. 

Especially  is  this  true  of  interior  furnishing.  For  interior 
paneling  there  is  nothing  more  attractive,  all  things  con- 
sidered, than  redwood,  and  to  the  interior  plans  of  American 
chalets,  architects  have  given  fancy  full  play.  It  is  a  diflS- 
cult  matter  to  preserve  the  artistic  simplicity  of  the  Swiss 
interior  and  yet  to  harmonize  it  with  the  requirements  of 
modern  convenience.  Yet  this  has  been  done  by  many  build- 
ers and  has  made  the  American  chalet  delightful  both  inside 
and  out. 

In  our  money-governed  world  one  must  not  forget  the 
matter  of  expense,  which  enters  very  largely  into  the  building 
plans  of  so  many  people.  Economy  was  necessary  to  Swiss 
people;  consequently  their  architecture  was  of  a  style  that 
cost  little.     And  the  same  is  true  in  America.     One  can 


44     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

build  a  Swiss  chalet  for  a  third  less  money  than  it  will  cost  to 
erect  a  house  of  similar  pretension  in  other  styles.  Of  course 
one  may  also  put  a  great  deal  of  money  into  a  chalet,  so  that 
it  really  satisfies  all  classes ;  but  to  such  as  want  an  inexpen- 
sive home  that  will  be  homehke  and  picturesque  and  will 
not  look  cheap  in  that  worst  sense  of  striving  for  an  ele- 
gance one  cannot  afford,  the  Swiss  chalet  is,  to  my  mind, 
the  ideal  habitation.  It  is  a  happy,  light-hearted  style;  it  is 
capable  of  an  infinite  variety  of  treatment  without  radical 
departure  from  its  central  and  fundamental  principles  of  ad- 
vantage and  excellence;  it  is  strong;  it  costs  little  and  en- 
dures.   What  more  can  one  ask  of  architecture? 


Italian  Adaptations 

By 

Lout's  C.  Boynton 


Ill  liniiK'  OH  the  Shark  River,  N.  J.  The  eoiistrueti 
•ick,  with  floors  of  reinforced  concrete  covered  wit 
tile — a    fireproof    structure    throughout 


Italian  Adaptations 


LET  us  begin  by  frankly  admitting  that  the  style  em- 
ployed in  the  design  of  a  house  should  be  determined 
by  the  special  conditions  of  environment,  by  the  ma- 
terial used,  and  by  the  social  and  intellectual  characteristics 
of  the  people  who  are  to  occupy  it. 

For  instance,  it  is  often  appropriate  to  build  a  camp  in 
Maine  or  in  the  Adirondacks  of  logs,  and  in  its  place  this 
seems  the  most  fitting  material  and  properly  influences  the 
"  style  "  or  character  of  the  building.  However,  wliile  one 
may  admit  this,  it  would  not  make  a  structure  built  of  this 
material  with  its  resultant  "  style  "  seem  especially  appro- 
priate or  fitting  on,  say  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York.  It  is 
difficult  to  imagine  an  architect  who  really  designs  his  build- 
ings saying,  "  Gio  to,  let  us  now  design  a  building  in  Tudor 
Gothic  or  Dutch  Colonial,"  without  having  first  studied  his 
problem.  No;  a  design  should  grow  from  the  conditions  im- 
posed by  the  site,  the  material  to  be  used  and  the  needs  of 
the  owner  and  his  family,  and  the  style  should  be  determined, 
almost  automatically,  by  these  requirements. 

Granting  all  this,  there  are  still  valid  reasons  why  an 
adaptation  of  the  Italian  Renaissance  is  the  logical  style  to 


48     ARCHITECTURAL  ST\XES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

use  in  an  increasingly  large  number  of  cases.  Undoubtedly- 
all  good  design  is  the  result  of  a  frank  use  of  the  materials 
employed;  and  any  forcing  of  the  materials  is  sure  to  result 
either  in  a  distorted  design,  or  in  what,  I  think,  may  fairly  be 
called  "  building  scenery,"  that  is  to  say,  in  constructing  an 
effect  that  looks  like  something  different  from  what  it  is. 


First     floor     plan,     "Casa     del 
Ponte,"  Rowayton,  Conn. 
Slee  &  Bryson,  architects 


For  instance,  building  in  frame  with  a  covering  of  stucco 
is,  to  my  mind,  distinctly  disingenuous.  Stucco  represents 
the  idea  of  plaster  on  a  backing  of  some  form  of  masonry  — 
stone,  brick,  terra  cotta,  or  what  not,  but  never  a  cover  for  a 
wood  frame. 

Now,  there  is  one  question  which  has  to  be  considered  in 
building,  and  consequently  in  designing,  every  house;  and 
that  is  the  question  of  materials.  "  Of  what  shall  we  build 
our  house?  "  is  a  question  that  has  to  be  settled  first  of  all  for 
every  case.     Frequently  there  are  only  two  or  three  materials 


ITALIAN  ADAPTATIONS  49 

that  are  to  be  had,  without  undue  expense,  and  usually  the 
materials  of  the  locaUty  are  the  ones  to  use.  Rightly  used, 
they  will  generally  give  results  which  seem  harmonious  and 
fitting. 

Of  course,  in  this  country  the  tradition  is  to  build  as  much 
as  possible  of  wood.     Formerly  wood  was  the  cheapest  as 


Second  floor  plan,  "Casa 
Ponte,"  Rowayton,  Conn. 
Slee  &  Bryson,  architects 


XRND  n-OOR  PLA 

: 

^ 

^     " 

i 

: 

= 

3 

-1     r  * 

1 

well  as  the  quickest  material  to  use,  and  the  idea  that  wood  is 
cheap  is  so  firmly  ingrained  that  most  people  are  surprised 
to  learn  how  little  basis  there  is  at  the  present  time  for  this 
belief. 

For  some  years  there  has  been  a  wxll  marked  and  increas- 
ing tendency  among  owners  and  architects  to  try  to  find  some 
substitute  for  frame  construction.  This  is  partly  to  be  ex- 
plained by  the  constant  advance  in  the  price  of  lumber  and 
the  fact  that  the  difference  in  the  expense  of  building  in 
wood  and  some  incombustible  material  is  rapidly  reaching 


60     ARCHITECTURAL  STiXES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

the  vanishing  point;  and  partly  by  the  growing  conviction 
that  the  risks  of  fire  in  a  wooden  house  are  too  great.  People 
are  reahzing  more  and  more  fully  that  the  extra  expense  of 
building  either  fireproof  houses,  or  houses  where  the  walls 
at  least  will  resist  fire,  is  more  than  justified  by  the  added 
security  obtained.  Furthermore,  the  reduced  cost  of  main- 
tenance in  buildings  that  do  not  require  frequent  painting 
is  a  factor  that  appeals  more  and  more  strongly  to  prospec- 
tive builders,  especially  if  they  have  had  experience  with  the 
constant  drain  for  repairs  brought  about  in  even  a  well  built 
frame  house. 

Now,  undoubtedly,  the  most  economical  and  straightfor- 
ward way  of  building  in  fireproof  or  semi-fireproof  construc- 
tion is  to  use  straight,  simple  wall  surfaces  with  the  minimum 
of  breaks,  and  to  stop  the  wall  at  an  even  height. 

If  the  tops  of  the  walls  are  protected  from  the  action  of 
the  weather  by  a  projection  of  the  roof,  you  have  the  maxi- 
mum of  efficiency  with  the  minimum  of  effort  and  expense. 
These  conditions  naturally  suggest  the  sort  of  building  so 
prevalent  in  central  Italy  and  especially  in  Florence. 

In  other  words,  they  suggest  the  Italian  type  of  building, 
with  its  plain,  simple  wall  surfaces,  its  long,  horizontal  pro- 
jecting cornice  or  eaves,  and  the  simple  roofs  which  are  so 
characteristic  of  the  type. 

It  may  be  said,  and  with  some  truth,  that  the  Georgian  or 
Southern  Colonial  type  fulfills  these  requirements  equally 


»^^-    '" 

1  \ 

t 

-1 

m 

III   tlic   liviii);-ri><>iii 


Id  I'lmte,"  air'Casa    del    Poiite."     Red    ceda 

Ml,   Coiiii.  place   of  the   cypresses   of  Italy 


The    Villa    Boiuli,    I'lorcmc.    .-.Iiku.-.    the    typical    eiicli).>cil    court    which 
might  well   furpish  a  precedent  fur  AiiH-ricun  country  lioim-s 


ITALIAN  ADAPTATIONS  51 

well.  This  may  be  true  in  some  cases,  but,  as  has  been  fre- 
quently pointed  out,  the  almost  entire  lack  of  flexibility  in 
the  Colonial  style  makes  it  often  difficult  to  use  without 
forcing  a  plan  into  a  more  or  less  arbitrary  rectangle,  and  in 
so  doing  distorting  the  natural  requirements  of  the  house. 

Now,  unlike  the  other  Renaissance  styles,  and  contrary 
to  the  usual  impression,  the  Italian  work,  except  in  the  later 
and  more  formal  examples,  is  one  of  the  freest,  most  flexible 
styles  ever  developed.  Even  the  most  cursory  inspection  of 
any  of  the  well  known  works  on  Italian  villas  will  convince 
the  doubting  homebuilder  of  the  absolute  accuracy  of  this 
statement. 

During  a  somewhat  prolonged  stay  in  Italy,  the  present 
writer  made  a  practice  of  measuring  and  making  drawings 
of  the  most  important,  or  at  least  the  most  interesting,  build- 
ings and  details  that  came  under  his  observation;  and  it 
happened,  not  once,  but  so  many  times  that  it  came  to  be 
almost  a  commonplace,  that  some  unexpected  departure  from 
the  normal,  some  unperceived  variation  from  symmetry  per- 
haps, made  a  second  visit  necessary  to  check  the  measure- 
ments. This  almost  invariably  resulted  in  uncovering  some 
perfectly  frank  lack  of  balance  which  had  been  perpetrated 
in  so  naive  a  way  as  to  elude  the  eye  of  even  a  trained  ob- 
server. 

One  came  to  feel,  after  a  while,  that  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  absolute  symmetry  in  Italian  work,  and  I  firmly  believe 


62     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

that  a  large  part  of  the  interest  in  tlus  work  is  due  to  that 
fact.  That  this  subtle  lack  of  obvious  balance  accounts  in 
some  measure  for  the  strange  compelling  charm  of  the  style 
seems  no  more  than  a  reasonable  deduction. 

But  it  is  in  the  Italian  villas,  which  correspond  most  nearly 
to  our  countr}'  houses,  that  one  sees  this  quality  carried  to 
an  extreme  that  seems  almost  incredible.  The  general  mass 
of  the  houses  is  so  simple  and  the  effect  so  regular  that  the 
mind  scarcely  grasps  the  fact  that  the  windows  are  put  in 
where  needed  for  use,  and  without  any  thought  of  absolute 
sjTnmetry,  but  with  a  wonderfully  subtle  sense  of  balance; 
so  that  the  effect  of  a  rectangular  facade,  with  a  strong 
shadow  from  long,  horizontal  projecting  eaves,  is  of  a  well 
balanced  symmetrical  whole  —  an  effect  difficult  to  obtain 
in  any  other  style. 

Of  course  objection  is  made  that  this  is  not  an  "  indigen- 
ous style."  ISIy  own  impression  is  that  except  for  the  pueblos 
and  the  cliff-dwellings  the  only  "  indigenous  style  "  is  the 
wigwam,  but  I  do  not  feel  myself  entirely  hmited  to  this 
precedent. 

The  fact  is  that  our  modern  conditions,  both  material  and 
intellectual,  are  so  far  removed  from  even  the  Colonial  farmer 
that  his  kind  of  house  does  not  fit,  at  least  not  without  such 
serious  modification  as  to  destroy  its  entity;  whereas  the  ar- 
chitecture of  the  Italian  Renaissance  is  the  result  of  an  activ- 
ity, both  intellectual  and  material,  which  is  measurably  re- 


Slonnriilil."   till 
i-,  III)  .xcrll.nt 


*  '^•^-*       ■*-      ^^-^ 


Tlif  Itiiliaii  lypr  |iri)vi(les  as  <1ih-s  iiii  oHkt  for  a  loggia  under  the  roof 
whic-h  might  l»c   utilized   in   many  ways 


ITALIAN  ADAPTATIONS  58 

produced  in  our  present  conditions.  And  the  indications 
are  very  strong  that  we  are  entering  upon  a  period  of  esthetic 
renaissance  wliich  has  a  very  vital  impulse. 

Both  on  the  score  of  practical  economy,  therefore,  of  adapt- 
ability to  the  materials,  and  as  representing  the  intellectual 
and  esthetic  status  of  the  present  generation,  the  Italian  Ren- 
aissance seems  the  most  reasonable  starting-point  from  which 
to  develop  our  domestic  architecture,  especially  as  regards 
country  house  work. 

Of  course,  it  does  not  need  saying  that  the  fact  that  this 
Italian  style  is  not  necessarily  formal  and  symmetrical,  does 
not  make  it  any  the  less  well  adapted  to  the  most  formal  and 
precise  type  of  building. 

While  tliis  type  of  house  may  be  executed  with  equal  pro- 
priety in  stone,  marble,  brick,  or  concrete  blocks,  it  is  pe- 
culiarly adapted  to  a  stucco  treatment.  In  fact  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  buildings  in  Italy,  even  among  the  finest 
examples,  are  built  of  stucco  on  a  rubble  stone  wall.  The 
writer  well  recalls  passing  a  Florentine  palace  near  the  Ric- 
cardi  in  the  company  of  an  educated  Italian.  Something 
was  said  about  the  building  being  of  plaster  and,  surprise 
being  expressed,  my  companion,  with  the  utmost  sang  froid, 
took  the  end  of  his  umbrella  and  broke  off  a  good-sized  piece 
from  what  looked  like  a  heavily  rusticated  stone.  This, 
however,  should  not  be  taken  as  an  indorsement  of  the  vicious 
practice  of  imitating  stone  in  stucco.     There  is  no  worse 


64    ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

crime  in  the  somewhat  extended  repertoire  of  an  architect 
than  this  same  lack  of  frankness. 

As  a  rule,  a  stucco  house,  unreheved  by  decoration  or  or- 
nament, has  a  cold  and  rather  uninviting  look,  and  it  is,  I 
believe,  for  this  reason  that  half-timber  work  has  been  so 
often  tried,  tmfortunately  with  almost  uniform  lack  of  suc- 
cess. Now  it  is  quite  possible  to  use  exterior  color  decora- 
ment. 

By  using  simple  designs  and  quiet  low-toned  color,  the 
monotony  of  the  plaster  wall  may  be  relieved.  The  method 
of  decoration  is,  of  course,  not  uncommon  in  the  north  of 
Italy  and  is  found  even  as  far  south  as  Florence,  and  may  be 
perfectly  well  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  our  modern  de- 
sign. 


Tudor  Houses 

By 
R.   Clipston  Sturgis 


Tudor  Houses 


So  much  has  already  been  written,  and  so  ably  written,  on 
the  subject  of  domestic  work  in  this  country  that  there 
remains  but  little  to  add,  and  the  special  field  I  am 
asked  to  cover  is  so  vague  and  so  varied  that  I  may  perhaps 
be  excused  if  I  try  to  present  some  general  considerations 
which  may  guide  one  in  determining  what  his  house  should 
be. 

Most  of  us  who  build  houses,  in  fact  a  very  large  propor- 
tion, wish  a  home,  and  it  is  to  the  consideration  of  what  a 
home  should  be  that  I  wish  to  call  attention.  Preeminently 
a  home  should  not  only  be  homelike,  but  should  look  like  a 
home,  and  the  house  should  seem  at  home  in  its  surround- 
ings. Tliis  would  seem  much  like  saying  that  a  circle  should 
be  round,  except  for  the  fact  that  although  nearly  every  one 
has  an  idea  of  a  home  which  is  accurate  and  well-defined, 
and  easily  recognized,  the  idea  is  not  always  sufficiently 
clear  to  be  grasped  by  the  imagination. 

It  is  right  that  we  should  turn  to  England  for  our  prec- 
edence, for  England  is  a  country  of  homes,  and  in  England 
more  than  in  any  other  country  we  recognize  the  fulfill- 
ment of  our  ideals  of  what  home  life  means.     Of  the  Eng- 

57 


58     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

lish  homes,  the  country  home  is  the  most  characteristic  and 
the  most  appealing,  for  the  English  of  all  classes  have  al- 
ways made  the  comitry  their  home.  They  love  out-of-door 
life  and  all  connected  with  it,  and  they  have  done  this  for 


f\          ■     / 

/'"""V_ 

Oj 

&1 

[f^~\- 

First  floor  plan,  a  master's  home,  Groton  School,  Groton,  Mass. 
R.  Clipston  Sturgis,  architect 

centuries,  and  because  they  have  done  this  for  so  long  they 
have  become  pastmasters  in  the  art  of  creating  homes. 

If,  then,  we  turn  to  Enghsh  precedence  for  inspiration, 
and  try  to  find  out  the  motives  and  spirit  of  the  domestic 
work  of  England,  we  should  surely  gain  some  knowledge 
of  what  a  home  should  be. 

I  think  the  prevailing  character  in  all  English  domestic 
work  is  sound  common  sense.  They  build  for  comfort,  not 
for  show;   they   count   the   cost,   and   build   economically. 


TUDOR  HOUSES  59 

They  love  the  country,  and  build  so  as  to  preserve  its  beau- 
ties and  not  mar  them  when  the  necessary  formality  is  intro- 
duced. They  plan  for  privacy,  because  privacy  is  of  the 
essence  of  home  life,  and,  because  they  do  all  these  things, 
almost  incidentally  as  it  were,  they  build  beautifully.  I 
say  almost  incidentally,  because  their  most  lovely  work 
seems  almost  unconsciously  beautiful,  as  if  it  were  a  beauty 
attained  without  effort. 

The  English  house  in  suburbs  or  in  country  may  be  based 
on  Gothic  traditions  as  they  filtered  through  the  Renais- 
sance days  of  the  Tudor  times,  or  tinged  with  the  Italian 
spirit  which  grew  side  by  side  vdth  Gothic,  or  touched  by 
the  influence  of  Dutch  brickwork,  which  helped  to  produce 
the  Georgian  work,  but  in  every  case  it  will  be  homelike. 
It  will  set  well  on  the  level  amid  its  well  kept  grounds,  or  on 
the  terraced  hillside,  or  in  the  pleasant  valley. 

It  will  have  three  divisions  always  more  or  less  clearly 
marked.  The  public  part,  entrances  and  the  like,  for  the 
family  and  for  service;  the  master's  part,  both  in  house  and 
grounds;  and  the  service  part,  also  in  house  and  grounds. 
This  is  so  obviously  wise  as  a  fundamental  consideration  that 
it  is  strange  to  find  it  so  often  ignored  here,  but  we  may 
comfort  or  excuse  ourselves  with  the  thought  that  they  have 
been  building  to  suit  conditions  of  country  life  for  centuries, 
and  we  but  a  short  time. 

With  these  three  considerations  in  mind  the  owner  will 


60  AKCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

yiew  his  lot  of  land  to  determine  what  part  he  may  spare 
to  the  public,  what  to  service,  and  what  reserve  for  his  wife 
and  children.  The  aspect,  the  natural  features,  view,  trees, 
and  so  on  will  largely  determine  these  most  important  things, 
and  if  they  are  settled  right,  many  problems  in  the  plan  are 
determined.  The  entrance  to  front  door  is  here,  and  to  the 
service  there,  the  dining-room  is  near  the  service  portion, 
the  living-rooms  command  the  private  ground.  Then  the 
main  features  of  the  plan  determine  themselves.  In  just 
this  way  is  it  determined  whether  the  regularity  of  a  Classic 
plan  or  the  freedom  of  the  Gothic  fits  best  the  conditions. 
It  seems  to  me  useless  to  argue  that  one  or  the  other  is  the 
only  way.  Both  have  their  uses,  both  are  wholly  appro- 
priate and  fitting  at  times.  The  style  should  grow  naturally 
from  the  demands  of  the  special  conditions,  and  neither  is 
necessarily  exclusive  of  the  others.  The  best  Tudor  and 
Jacobean  houses  were  planned  with  great  formality  of  bal- 
anced parts,  and  the  later  Georgian  work  was  often  very 
free,  and  frankly  unbalanced. 

What  is  true  of  the  plan  is  equally  true  of  materials,  al- 
ways bearing  in  mind  that  what  is  honest  and  straightfor- 
ward in  construction  is  more  likely  to  have  the  permanent 
qualities  of  beauty  than  what  is  either  false,  imitative,  or 
ostentatious. 

The  English  have  always  used  honest,  simple  material  — 
generally  local  and  economical  material.     With  us  local  ma- 


English   precedent  does   not   necessarily  enforce  rigid  limits.     There 

are  some  features  here  that  suggest  the  transplanting  of 

the   tj^pe  to   American   soil 


11,   M.iss.,   Ijuill   to  fit  the  site  of  a  house 
fire.     The  English  t\  pe  was  chosen  on 
account  of  its   flexibility 


^^ 

■:■  :i.h^\JaLco*,..^;#j          1 

^^^^^^ 

U  15 

\ 

TUDOR  HOUSES  61 

terial  and  economy  have  little  to  do  with  each  other  because 
in  New  England,  for  example,  it  is  cheaper  to  bring  cut 
stone  from  Indiana  than  to  cut  our  obdurate  granite.  Nev- 
ertheless, we  disregard  local  opportunities  altogether  too 
much,  and  rather  pride  ourselves  on  getting  something  our 
neighbors  have  not.  We  have,  however,  no  excuse  for  not 
using  honest  material:  wood,  stone,  brick,  concrete,  are  all 
in  this  class,  and  have  their  place  and  use.  Wood  is  still 
the  cheapest  material  in  first  cost,  but  other  more  durable 
and  safe  materials  are  rapidly  nearing  its  cost.  To  cover 
wood  with  stucco  makes  the  frame  house  safer,  and  reduces 
the  sm-face  that  requires  paint,  but  it  has  the  air  of  pre- 
tending to  be  more  substantial  than  it  really  is.  The  Eng- 
lish, Scotch  or  Italian 'stuccoed  houses  are  built  of  brick  or 
stone.  It  is,  however,  a  somewhat  harmless  pretense,  and 
economy  may  well  warrant  it. 

The  stone  house  may  be  wholly  charming  or  quite  repel- 
lant,  depending  largely  on  how  simple  it  is  and  how  largely 
nature  is  allowed  to  beautify  it  (I  am  speaking  of  simple 
homes  now,  not  of  cut-stone  palaces) .  Brick  is  the  material 
which  more  universally  and  longer  than  any  other  has  stood 
the  test  of  time's  judgment;  and  of  all  bricks  that  which  has 
best  stood  the  test  is  the  common  red  brick  with  varied 
colors  and  textures  that  are  the  natural  product  of  the  kiln. 

During  all  its  great  period  of  brick  building  England  has 
set  its  stamp  of  approval  on  the  red  brick.     Dutch  influ- 


62    ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ence  introduced  many  interesting  expressions  of  brickwork, 
varied  bonds,  diapers,  rubbed  moldings  in  belt-courses  and 
chimneys,  but  through  all  the  plain  brick  wall  of  good  red 
brick,  well  laid  and  well  bonded,  has  held  its  place  as  a 
method  of  building  at  once  simple,  beautiful  and  economical. 
For  this  reason  I  believe  strongly  in  the  use  of  common 
brick  for  our  country  houses. 

There  remains  of  the  four  I  named,  concrete.  This  is 
practically  a  modem  material,  at  all  events  all  reinforced 
forms  of  concrete.  In  appearance  it  is  a  stucco  wall,  with 
some  possibilities  which  the  stucco  has  not,  namely,  a  surface 
as  hard  and  durable  as  the  best  stones,  which  can  be  cut  and 
hammered  as  stone  can  be.  More  than  that,  it  can  be 
treated  in  a  unique  way  when^  it  is  still  green,  for  then  a 
brush  and  water  will  sen^e  to  give  it  texture  and  reveal  the 
interest  of  its  component  parts. 

These  four,  then,  are  the  simple  materials,  and  because 
wood  is  perishable  and  inflammable,  and*,  of  the  other  three, 
brick  is  the  most  generally  available  material,  I  think  it 
should  always  be  considered  when  the  material  of  the  house 
is  under  discussion.  There  are  few  places  in  the  country 
where  brick  can  even  be  imagined  as  out  of  place,  because 
there  are  few  where  clay  and  sand  do  not  exist.  Just  as 
brick  may  be  always  entitled  to  consideration  so  may  Eng- 
lish precedence  be  entitled  to  come  first.  Yet  in  this  broad 
and  varied  country  it  would  be  absurd  to  claim  that  Eng- 


kliiK-,   Mass.     Tlu 

n    IS   the  i)Ossiliilit\    ot 

in   1 

)n  of  texturf   in   b 

rickwoik  In    the  use  ot 

the 

many    a\  i 

lable    h<)iui5 

1 

^^B^B^StK^BI^^imm^k 

'                  M 

HB^H 

^R 

rKg^^^H^^^^H 

■■^^^^■k^^^B^^^H 

i 

M 

t          *^*'i£^l 

TUDOR  HOUSES  63 

lish  precedent  should  always  govern.  The  Spanish  set  their 
stamp  on  the  coast,  and  working  along  the  lines  of  the  Span- 
ish Renaissance  in  material  that  was  local  and  character- 
istic, they  produced  a  type  that  gave  Mr.  Bertram  Goodhue 
a  chance  to  show  how  completely  charming,  and  home-like 
as  well,  the  wliite,  flat  roofed  concrete  house  might  be. 
(The  Gillespie  house  at  Santa  Barbara,  illustrated  in  the 
following  chapter. )  At  first  blush  one  would  say  this  house 
could  look  well  only  in  that  luxuriant  setting,  but  1  can 
imagine  it  almost  equally  lovely  and  at  home  in  some  of  the 
reaches  of  the  Maine  coast,  set  amid  cedar  and  fir,  on  the 
hillside,  springs  feeding  its  fountains,  and  its  outlook  over 
the  sea.  At  first  blush  a  Virginian  red  brick  house  might 
seem  out  of  place  in  California,  but  I  can  imagine  one  set 
in  the  midst  of  an  orchard,  or  surrounded  by  formal  gar- 
dens, looking  as  homelike  as  it  does  in  England,  and  as  much 
in  keeping  with  its  surroundings. 


Ihe  Spanish  Mission  Type 

By 
George  C.  Baum 


Ikt  .Mails 


Tlir    iircliod    (liMirwii\>   iiiul    (jiiliU-    fiul>   iirc    Mi>9iiiii    iliMriuU-ristics;    tli 
porch  is  an  addition  nmdc  norcsMirv  l>v  the  liu-k  of  an  interior  i-oiirt 


l^he  Spanish  Mission  Type 

THE  words  "  Spanish  Mission  "  bring  to  the  niind  but 
one  thought, —  a  group  of  buildings  scattered  over 
Southern  California.  The  buildings  and  the  location 
seem  to  be  sjTionymous ;  the  one  suggests  the  other.  In- 
stantly the  mind  pictures  a  warm  and  sunny  climate,  a 
group  of  palm  and  magnoha  trees,  in  the  shadow  of  which 
nestles  a  low  and  rambUng  building,  covered  with  vines  and 
rose  bushes.  Charming!  we  exclaim.  Yes,  charming  be- 
yond description.  California,  the  land  of  sunsliine  and 
roses,  and,  as  Stoddard  says  of  Southern  California,  "  we 
think  of  it,  and  love  it,  as  the  dreamland  of  the  Spanish 
Mission." 

The  Spanish  missionaries  coming  up  from  Mexico  were 
the  first  to  settle  in  Cahfornia,  having  as  their  ambition  the 
conversion  of  the  Indians.  They  begaln  their  enterprise 
with  rude  adobe  huts,  but  as  they  became  prosperous  and 
successful,  these  huts  gave  way  to  extensive  buildings,  con- 
structed in  the  form  of  a  quadrangle,  surrounding  an  inner 
court.  The  best  examples  can  be  seen  in  the  remauis  of 
Santa  Barbara,  San  Juan  Capistrano.  San  Fernando  Rey, 
Carmel,  San  Gabriel,  San  Luis  Rey  and  San  Miguel. 

This  mode  of  building  around  an  open  space,  forming 

67 


ARCHITECTURAL  STYXES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 


an  inner  court  or  patio,  was  brought  over  with  the  Spaniards 
from  their  native  land. 

It  was  just  the  style  of  building  best  adapted  to  their 


•  TLOoa  750, An  •. 
Lt5Tfn  5MOOI2E  /3DCMITE.CT- 
Los  <^nGt.i-«i»   CaL'  ^lii^ 


The  home  of  Edwin  G.  Hart,  San  Marino,  CaL 
Lester  S.  Moore,  architect 

needs,  and  frequently  a  number  of  patios  were  used  as  the 
demands  required. 

Within  these  enclosures  their  cattle  and  herds  were  driven 
at. night  for  protection,  wliere  tliey  were  safe  from  the  sav- 
ages and  wild  beasts.     These  settlements  were  in  reality 


THE  SPANISH  MISSION  TYPE  69 

large  ecclesiastical  farms,  \n\.h  their  cattle  grazing  on  the 
adjoining  plains  and  the  grain  growing  in  the  surrounding 
fields.  Here  also  the  Indians  were  gathered  and  instructed 
in  the  art  of  civihzation,  religion,  trades  and  farming.  Iso- 
lated as  they  were  in  those  days,  it  was  necessary  for  each 
Mission  to  provide  for  its  own  wants;  therefore,  rooms  and 
apartments  of  different  kinds  were  set  aside  for  their  par- 
ticular purposes,  and  all  gathered  together,  as  it  were,  under 
one  roof. 

The  most  prominent  portion  of  the  building  from  the  ex- 
terior would  be  the  church,  with  its  dominating  belfry,  Avhile 
around  it  would  be  collected  the  bedrooms  or  cells  for  the 
monks,  the  refectory,  the  kitchen,  hospital,  schoolrooms, 
workshops  and  sundry  buildings. 

This  is,  in  short,  the  history  and  description  of  the  so- 
called  Spanish  Mission  style  of  architecture.  These  settle- 
ments were  made  by  Spanish  religious  orders  engaged  in 
frontier  work,  and  this  class  of  men  naturally  would  not 
bring  with  them  artists  or  architects,  so  they  built  with  the 
best  talent  and  skill  they  had  at  their  disposal,  following  the 
examples  famihar  to  them,  such  as  appear  in  Spain  and  Mex- 
ico. They  naturally  built  simply  and  substantially,  but  in 
that  simplicity  lies  all  their  charm  and  beauty.  Large, 
plain  wall  spaces  are  characteristic  of  this  type  of  building, 
and  when  man  finished  his  work,  Nature  started  to  embellish 
it  with  her  clinging  vines  and  overhanging  trees,  transform- 


70     ARCHITECTURAL  STiXES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ing  them  all  into  a  picture  of  charm  and  beauty.  Any  at- 
tempt at  gorgeous  enrichment  and  elaboration  would  have 
been  fatal  to  the  artistic  and  enchanting  results. 

The  most  characteristic  points  of  this  style  of  architecture 
can  be  described  as  a  low  building  with  heavy  walls  of  adobe 
brick,  covered  with  stucco;  a  low  pitched  roof,  covered  with 
tile,  and  wide,  projecting  eaves,  casting  the  deep  shadow  so 
necessary  in  a  sunny  location;  belfries,  formed  by  the  pro- 
jecting of  the  walls  above  the  roof,  pierced  with  arched 
openings  to  carry  the  bells,  while  the  inner  courts  were  sur- 
rounded with  arches,  forming  spacious  and  picturesque 
cloisters.  The  windows  on  the  first  floor  were  frequently 
enclosed  with  turned  wooden  grilles,  a  remnant  of  the  iron 
grilles  of  Spain,  and  used  for  protection.  The  walls  were 
of  solid  brick,  covered  with  stucco,  and  have  at  times  reached 
a  thickness  of  six  feet.  Floors  were  frequently  covered 
with  large  brick  tiles,  twelve  inches  square. 

This  style  of  architecture  sounds  very  well,  but  how  does 
it  apply  to  the  average  modern  suburban  home?  For  the 
more  northern  climate  where  winds  and  storms  predominate, 
and  where  the  cold  is  severe,  this  style  is  not  at  all  practical. 
There  a  building  compact  and  sheltered  is  desirable,  but 
where  the  sunshine  abounds,  and  where  winter  is  of  short 
duration,  this  type  of  building  is  most  fitting.  In  the  South 
the  Spanish  INIission  is  at  its  best,  but  the  architectural  treat- 
ment when  properly  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  the  North, 


THE  SPANISH  ^^SSION  TYPE  71 

gives  a  most  pleasing  and  happy  result.  Other  tj'pes  of 
buildings  seem  to  have  been  the  popular  types  to  follow 
for  surburban  homes,  many  of  which  have  become  monot- 
onous, while  the  Spanish  ^Mission  has  been  overlooked. 
This  type  is  not  splashy  or  elaborate,  but  can  be  enriched 
in  a  quiet  way  to  great  advantage. 

What  are  the  requisites  of  a  private  residence  or  home? 
In  common,  it  could  be  described  as  a  place  for  rest,  a  place 
to  eat  and  a  place  to  sleep,  a  place  for  thought,  and  a  place 
to  entertain  one's  friends.  The  question  is,  how  best  to  ac- 
complish this  within  reasonable  means. 

The  Spanish  Mission  house  has  the  advantage  of  being 
easy  and  simple  of  construction,  void  of  the  complications 
of  building  principles,  as  in  many  of  the  other  styles  fre- 
quently adopted. 

This  simplicity  does  not  detract  from  its  beauty;  but 
when  properly  handled,  simplicity  can  be  relieved  by  the 
grouping  of  motives  and  by  the  planting  of  trees  and 
shrubbery.  The  appearance  of  the  building  is  one  of  quiet 
and  rest,  refreshing  to  the  eye;  its  stucco  walls  are  cool 
in  summer,  yet  not  oppressive  in  the  winter.  It  has  been 
said,  "  nothing  is  so  much  to  be  desired  as  repose  in  form 
and  color,"  and  the  Spanish  ^lission  gives  it. 

The  interior  can  be  arranged  to  suit  any  condition.  The 
tendency  of  the  present  day  is  to  build  the  house  reducing 
the  number  of  stories  in  height,  thus  eliminating  the  climb- 


7^  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ing  of  stairs.  A  house  spread  out  has  the  preference. 
This  gives  the  possibility  of  the  inner  court  or  patio,  which 
forms  the  center  of  the  Spanish  family  life.  These  courts 
are  built  M'ith  arches  forming  cloisters  one  story  high,  or  as 
supporting  arches  carrying  a  second  story  above. 

In  the  center  generally  is  a  fountain,  around  which  are 
gathered  potted  plants  and  palms;  here  the  family  gathers 
and  friends  are  received  and  entertained.  The  normal 
man,  in  his  private  life,  hates  publicity  and  craves  retire- 
ment. 

Houses  thus  built  present  this  to  the  best  advantage,  as 
the  interior  of  the  building  can  be  made  very  attractive  and 
livable.  The  exterior  walls  can  be  opened  by  use  of  arches 
or  posts,  giving  spacious  porches  for  those  who  desire  them. 
In  the  larger  courts,  trees  were  planted,  and  rose  bushes 
were  cultivated. 

From  the  fountain  often  ran  streams  of  water  carried  off 
in  open  channels,  around  which  flow^ers  were  planted. 
These  interior  courts  of  the  Spanish  Missions  were  used 
first  as  centers  for  protection,  within  wliich  the  monks  were 
safe  and  free  from  anxiety.  Here  they  would  congregate 
in  leisure  hours  and  take  their  exercise.  Then  they  began 
to  beautify  the  open  space,  which  resulted  in  the  adoption 
of  forms  similar  to  the  luxuriant  and  charming  formal  gar- 
dens. 

The  writer  does  not  advocate  the  Spanish  Mission  as  the 


THE  SPANISH  MISSION  TYPE  73 

best  type  of  architecture  to  be  followed  universally,  but  this 
argimicnt  is  intended  to  show  how  it  can  be  adapted,  and 
how  appropriate  it  is  to  surburban  life. 

First  and  foremost  we  must  build  with  the  materials  at 
our  disposal.  We  are  entering  upon  a  period  of  wood 
famine.  The  lavish  use  of  wood  as  in  former  days,  must 
be  curtailed,  and  it  will  soon  be  out  of  the  question  as  a 
building  material.  We  are  by  necessity  rapidly  advancing 
to  the  concrete  and  cement  age,  following  the  footsteps  of 
the  old  world.  Concrete  is  being  used  in  buildings  in  this 
country  more  to-daj^  than  ever  before.  It  is  easy  of  con- 
struction when  properly  handled  and  does  not  require  skilled 
labor  in  its  formation.  Thus  the  expense  is  reduced.  This 
is  a  marked  advantage,  especially  in  the  country  where  ma- 
sons for  stone  and  brick  work  are  scarce  and  often  must 
be  transported  from  the  city.  The  outside  face  of  the  walls 
is  covered  with  cement  or  stucco,  forming  window  and  door 
jambs,  and,  with  the  roofs  of  tile,  the  use  of  wood  is  re- 
duced to  a  minimum.  It  is  not  necessary  that  the  walls 
be  built  of  concrete  for  this  style  of  building,  as  brick  or 
stone  will  answer  the  purpose  in  place  of  the  concrete. 
Tiled  roofs  are  generally  used.  Where  the  floors  are  ex- 
posed to  the  rain  and  moisture,  as  in  porches  and  cloisters, 
flat  tiles  are  used.  This  flooring  is  good,  and  economical, 
as  it  requires  practically  no  attention. 

More   and   more   the   desire   is   growing   for   baths   and 


74     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

plunges.  The  "  Roman  bath  "  seems  to  be  returning  to 
popular  use.  WTiere  land  can  be  used  freely  the  bath  can 
be  connected  with  the  main  house  very  conveniently  in  this 
type  of  building,  surrounding  it  with  rooms  or  with  a  blank 
wall  as  desired.  In  similar  manner  can  be  constructed  the 
stable  or  garage. 

The  old  Mission  and  Mexican  buildings  were  almost  hid- 
den by  trees,  and  for  those  who  appreciate  landscape  garden- 
ing this  type  of  building  affords  a  splendid  opportunity 
for  enrichment  with  planting. 

This  Mission  style  of  architecture  is  not  applicable  to  con- 
gested city  uses,  where  land  is  so  valuable  and  height  of 
building  is  the  ambition,  but  when  applied  to  country 
or  suburban  uses,  what  is  more  appropriate?  What  can 
be  more  refreshing  than  after  the  labors  of  the  day  to  leave 
the  citj'  with  its  confusion  and  jumbled  collection  of  all 
kinds  and  styles  of  architecture,  as  seen  in  the  average  busi- 
ness streets  of  all  our  cities,  to  come  to  the  country  home 
with  its  quiet  and  rest  ? 

The  modern  houses  of  red  brick,  the  fanciful  reproduc- 
tion and  imitations  of  castles  and  chateaux,  often  perched 
in  the  most  inappropriate  positions,  become  irksome.  In- 
stead of  this  we  come  to  the  quiet  and  restful  Mission  with 
its  setting  of  trees,  flowers,  vines  and  gardens. 


ne  Half-timber  House 
By 

Allen    W.  Jackson 


(1    Imlf-limlHT    hoiivs    rrsult^    from    the 
>iis  iniitoriiiK  in  (■oiiihiiiatioii  iiiul   in  IIh-  Ioom-mcss  of  con- 
stnirtion — notice,    for    instniuv.    the    uneven    splicing 
of   the   pnMe  end    upright    tiinliers 


The  Half -timber  House 


LET  me  warn  the  young  architect  about  to  dine  out 
that,  while  the  first  question  asked  of  him  may  be 
about  the  weather,  the  second  will  surely  be  "  Why 
don't  architects  invent  a  new  style  of  architecture? " 

There  may  be  more  than  one  answer  as  to  why  we  do  not 
invent  a  new  set  of  forms  out  of  hand,  but  if  it  can  be  made 
perfectly  clear  what  an  architectural  style  really  is  we  are 
provided  at  the  same  time  with  the  answer  to  the  question. 
If  it  is  thoroughly  understood  that  an  arcliitectural  "  style  " 
is  but  a  reflection  of  a  certain  type  of  civilization,  is  but  a 
mirror  of  the  customs,  manners,  limitations  and  environ- 
ment of  a  race,  showing  the  slow,  painful  process  of  the 
growth  and  development  of  a  people,  it  ought  to  be  apparent 
why  it  is  that  "  styles  "  are  not  invented  in  the  study. 

Even  when  it  becomes  no  longer  possible  truthfully  to  re- 
flect the  manners  and  customs,  the  requirements  and  de- 
sires of  a  people  in  the  old  inherited  forms  —  even  then  we 
may  not  talk  of  a  new  style,  but  of  modifications  of  the  cur- 
rent one,  the  whole  problem  being  one  of  growth.  It  is  as 
impossible  for  us  wilfully  to  repudiate  our  architecture  as 
it   would   be   our   literature.     A   people's   architecture   fits 


78     ARCHITECTURAL  ST\XES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

them,  and  no  one  else  can  wear  it.     We  may  admire  others, 
but  only  our  own  is  flesh  of  our  flesh. 

The  particular  style  that  ice  have  been  born  into,  devel- 
oped by  our  forefathers  through  centuries,  keeping  pace 


First  floor  plan,  the  home  of  George  H.  Lowe,  Wellesley,  Mass. 
Allen  W.  Jackson,  architect 

with  the  slow,  painful  progress  of  the  race,  always  a  true 
index  of  its  contemporary  condition,  a  perfect  inarticulate 
measure  of  its  culture  and  refinement ;  tliis  style,  tliis  grow- 
ing embodiment  in  stone  of  a  people's  dreams  and  idealism, 
keeping  step  down  through  the  centuries  with  the  upward 
march  of  the  race  —  this  for  us  is  the  Gothic  style  of  Eng- 
land. 

Stone  and  brick  were  the  materials  used  for  the  impor- 


<a^^^^^^tKk 

m 

UMilli. 

^  1 

1  u 
1  a 
» ij 

•Z    7 

-i  — 

V 

if 

THE  HALF-TIMBER  HOUSE 


79 


tant  work  and  plaster  and  timber  for  the  farms  and  houses 
of  the  gentry. 

The  Georgian  style,  also  brought  over  to  tliis  country, 
where  we  know  it  as  the  Colonial,  was  not  an  indigenous 


Second  floor  plan,  the  home  of  George  H.  Lowe,  Wcllcslcy,  Jlass. 
Allen  W.  Jackson,  architect 

manner  of  building;  it  was  but  an  imported  fashion,  an  alien 
style,  as  little  at  home  in  serving  British  institutions  as  one 
would  expect  such  a  typically  Italian  product  to  be. 

Even  if  we  admit  that  long  custom  had  served  to  imbue 
these  borrowed  forms  with  something  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
temperament,  we  still  have  the  inherent  unsuitableness  of  an 
essentially  monumental  style  of  architecture  forced  to  serve 
intimate,  and  domestic  uses.     It  is  the  Arab  steed  harnessed 


80     ARCHITECTURAL  ST\XES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

to  the  plow.  Its  simplicity  and  dignity  are  all  very  well, 
but  they  are  bound  to  a  tjTannical  symmetry,  rigid  and  im- 
mutable. 

We  all  know  the  Colonial  house,  the  front  door  in  the 
center  flanked  on  either  side  by  the  paired  windows  above 
and  below;  each  window  the  exact  size  of  everj'  other;  one- 
half  the  front  the  mathematical  counterpart  of  the  other. 
It  may  be  there  is  a  guest  room  on  one  corner  and  a  bath- 
room on  the  other,  but  it  never  appears  on  the  surface.  We 
might  have  liked  for  comfort  and  convenience  to  have  had 
three  windows  on  one  side  and  two  on  the  other,  or  perhaps 
higher,  or  smaller,  but  it  will  do  us  but  little  good  to  carry 
our  request  to  tliis  austere  front. 

Like  the  unlucky  traveler  in  the  bed  of  Procrustes,  the 
poor  plan  is  made  to  fit  by  brute  force,  either  by  stretching 
or  lopping  off". 

Now  it  is  an  architectural  maxim,  that,  without  regard 
for  style,  the  elevations  of  a  building  shall  express  the  plan ; 
but  how  is  it  possible  for  the  meanest  and  the  most  honored 
rooms  to  be  expressed  on  the  exterior  by  the  same  thing  — 
the  window,  for  instance?  If  one  window  is  a  truthful  ex- 
pression of  the  one  room,  how  can  it  possibly  be  of  the 
other?  Working  in  the  derivatives  of  the  Classic  style  as 
applied  to  domestic  work,  not  to  be  able  to  tell  from  the 
outside,  the  bathroom  from  the  parlor,  the  butler's  pantry 
from  the  ballroom,  is  a  basic  defect  of  style  that  forces 


THE  HALF-TIMBER  HOUSE  81 

many  undersirable  compromises  that  would  be  unnecessary 
in  a  more  flexible  and  less  rigid  system.  There  should  not 
be  this  conflict  between  the  plan  and  its  elevations  by  which 
one  must  give  way  to  the  other,  serious  sacrifices  having 
to  be  made  before  the  two  can  be  coaxed  into  joining  hands. 

In  this  feud  between  Truth  and  Harmony,  Utility  stands 
but  a  sorry  chance. 

As  has  been  said,  a  primary  necessity  of  good  architec- 
ture is  that  the  elevations  shall  follow  and  grow  from  the 
plan,  that  they  shall  express  what  they  shield;  they  must  be 
the  effect  and  never  the  cause.  Beauty  must  wait  on  Use 
and  is  only  noble  when  it  serves. 

If,  then,  our  exteriors  will  not  subordinate  themselves;  if 
they  are  not  perfectly  tractable  and  flexible,  it  is  a  weakness, 
and  this  weakness  is  one  that  we  think  exists  in  the  Classic 
style,  a  weakness  which  never  shows  so  plainly  and  dis- 
astrously as  in  the  manifold  exigencies  of  modern  house- 
building. And  it  is  in  this  very  matter  that  the  strength 
of  the  true  English  work  lies.  The  plaster  and  half-timber 
houses,  by  ignoring  symmetry  (but  never  composition)  gain 
at  the  outset  an  immense  freedom. 

The  plan  may  fulfill  the  most  extraordinary  requirements, 
may  house  the  most  incongnious  matters  under  one  roof; 
china  closets  may  come  next  to  chapels,  pantries  under  bou- 
doir, yet  each  have  every  requirement  of  light  and  space  ex- 
actly fulfilled,  with  their  proper  and  fitting  exterior  ex- 


82     ARCHITECTURAL  ST\'LES  FOR  CX)UNTRY  HOUSES 

pression.  There  is  the  best  possible  understanding  between 
the  plan  and  elevation,  the  understanding  that  the  plan  is 
master  and  the  other  must  honor  and  obej\ 

The  results  in  England,  where  it  is  best  studied,  are  those 
soft,  beautiful  houses,  which  aifect  us  by  their  perfect  re- 
pose and  harmony,  rest  and  simplicity;  no  stress  or  striving 
here,  only  peace  and  quiet.  They  take  their  place  in  the 
landscape  more  like  some  work  of  Nature  than  of  man,  nes- 
tling among  the  verdure  almost  like  some  larger  plant,  more 
as  if  they  grew  than  as  if  they  were  made.  Rules  of  the 
books,  recipes  from  the  schools,  seem  very  thin  and  profitless 
in  their  presence. 

''  These  buildings  are  not  dependent  on  the  paint  shop  or 
the  planing-mill;  they  are  brothers  to  the  soil  —  what  else 
are  the  brick  and  mortar  and  rough-hewn  timber?  They 
are  not  designed  under  an  artificial  rule  derived  from 
nothing  in  nature.  Then  the  adornment  of  these  English 
houses  does  not  consist  of  motives  invented  for  use  on  Greek 
temples  five  hundred  years  before  Christ.  What  detail  and 
ornament  they  have  were  invented  painfully,  lovingly,  and 
slowly  through  the  centuries  by  the  people  themselves,  im- 
proving and  bettering  as  they  came  up  out  of  their  darkness 
of  ignorance  and  poverty.  Eloquent  of  a  people's  liistory, 
those  who  live  in  these  houses  own  them  in  a  very  real  sense. 

As  for  their  use  in  this  country,  the  utilitarian  has  no 
complaint  on  that  score,  as  they  are  perfectly  suited  to  our 


THE  HALF-TIMBER  HOUSE  83 

climate.  The  plaster  makes  a  warmer  wall  in  winter  and  a 
cooler  one  in  summer  than  can  be  had  ^vith  only  wood. 
When  properly  done  it  is  very  durable  and  there  is  no  cost 
of  upkeep.  It  can  be  made  thoroughly  charming  in  color 
itself  and  wonderfully  harmonious  among  the  surrounding 
vegetation. 

Of  course  in  considering  the  modern  work  one  must  not 
expect  to  find  in  it  the  charm  and  fascination  which  so  de- 
light us  in  the  old  English  crofts  and  manors.  It  is  an 
exceedingly  difficult  thing  to  judge  architecture  per  se,  that 
is  to  separate  the  architecture,  the  conscious  design,  entirely 
from  its  setting,  and  pass  judgment  on  it  solely  as  an  ar- 
tistic composition,  without  regard  to  the  accidental  or  for- 
tuitous in  its  surroundings,  or  to  those  caressing  marks  by 
which  we  may  know  that  Father  Time  has  passed  that  way. 
This  added  beauty  begins  where  the  architect  left  off,  but 
he  is  too  often  given  credit  for  the  beauty  that  is  of  Xature 
and  not  of  man  —  the  perfect  result  that  neither  may  ob- 
tain alone.  The  Enghsh  cathedrals  —  were  they  so  beauti- 
ful, so  noble,  so  satisfying,  when  the  architect  stood  off  and 
looked  at  his  finished  work,  their  future  history  unborn  and 
timid  Nature  looking  on  from  afar,  not  yet  ready  to  run 
up  and  cling  about  its  base  and  storm  its  walls  and  find  a 
footfold  in  every  cranny?  I  fear  they  were  not  so  good 
then,  for  every  picture  is  helped  by  its  frame. 

Your  architect  prefers  the  catliedrals  of  France,  standing 


84     ARCHITECTURAL  STiXES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

in  the  midst  of  squalid  villages,  with  the  old  houses  circling 
thick  about  the  base,  clinging  to  its  verj^  skirts.  These 
buildings  are  less  appealing,  less  soft  and  beautiful,  less  pic- 
turesque and  charming,  but  they  stand  without  adventitious 
aid  to  proclaim  and  attest  the  greatness  of  their  designers 
and  builders. 

And  then,  to  be  reckoned  with,  in  its  very  powerful  but 
extremelj'  subtle  appeal  to  the  sensitive  mind,  is  the  potent 
power  of  age.  For  time  means  history,  and  nothing  is  more 
effective  in  making  us  feel  the  presence  and  reality  of  the 
past,  in  recalling  historic  events  than  buildings  wliich  saw 
or  may  have  even  sheltered  them.  The  power  which  such 
works  have  of  renvifying  the  former  life  which  surged 
about  them  and  profoundly  affecting  and  moving  the  im- 
agination of  the  onlooker  by  the  subtle  aura  that  hangs  about 
and  permeates  them,  is  a  force  that  must  be  carefully  taken 
into  account  and  guarded  against  by  him  who  would  sit  in 
judgment  on  architectuure. 

These  pleasant  emanations  are,  for  the  critic,  illegitimate 
and  must  first  of  all  be  exorcised,  before  he  is  fit  to  don  the 
ermine. 

Let  us  therefore  be  a  little  careful  before  we  are  quite 
sure  that  our  admiration  is  wisely  bestowed  and  that  our 
old  buildings  are  really  so  much  finer  works  than  any  we 
produce  to-day.  Let  us  eliminate  ^Mother  Nature  and  her 
accessories  of  verdure  and  decay,  let  us  forget  the  singularly 


THE  HALF-TIMBER  HOUSE  86 

happy  results  she  obtains  by  sagging  our  roofs  and  stain- 
ing our  walls,  by  blunting  our  edges  and  playing  havoc  gen- 
erally with  the  specifications.  It  is  all  so  delightful  —  but 
it  is  not  architecture. 

In  the  same  way  let  us  banish  Father  Time  from  our 
thoughts,  with  the  rich  pageant  that  follows  in  his  train,  and 
try  to  discover  only  what  it  was  our  designer  had  in  lias 
heart,  what  colored  liis  thoughts,  Avhat  guided  his  hand, 
when  he  stood  before  his  empty  field  with  visions  swarming 
through  his  mind. 

Let  us  look  now  at  what  this  English  half-timber  work 
was  in  its  birthplace  and  what  we  make  of  it  to-day.  We 
shall  notice  in  looking  over  the  illustrations  chosen  for  re- 
production that  many  of  the  buildings  are  not  entirely  done 
in  half-timber.  Many  of  the  most  successful  ones  are  those 
that  use  it  in  connection  with  plain  plaster  or  brick,  the 
black  and  white  used  as  an  accent,  as  a  precious  tiling. 

A  particularly  strong  point  of  the  English  work  is  that 
your  Englishman  will  spend  $100,000  and  when  he  is 
through  will  have  a  simple,  quiet,  modest  cottage.  We,  on 
the  other  hand,  with  half  the  money  at  our  command,  at  once 
try  for  a  palace,  Corinthian  columns  through  three  stories, 
and  plenty  of  carved  stone.  We  build  the  cottage  only 
when  we  can  afford  nothing  else.  But  it  is  pleasant  to  think 
that  tliis  quiet  simple  work  is  becoming  more  common  with 
us  every  day.     We  are  coming  to  recognize  its  picturesque- 


86     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ness  and  adaptabilitj^  to  varying  conditions  of  site,  its  home- 
like quality  and  freedom  from  ostentation.  All  these  con- 
siderations act  powerfully  towards  making  it  the  one  suitable 
style  for  our  country  liomes. 


T^he  Dutch  Colonial  House 

By 

Aymar  Embury^  II 


The  Dutch  Colonial  House 


BEFORE  going  into  the  subject  of  the  merits  of  Dutch 
architecture  it  may  be  well  to  define  the  meaning  of 
the  term  as  it  is  commonly  used.  It  refers  not  to  the 
architecture  of  Holland,  but  to  the  style  which  was  built 
up  by  the  Dutch  Colonists  and  which  was  developed  not 
only  by  them  but  by  the  French  Huguenots  and  the  Eng- 
lish who  later  settled  amongst  them.  The  houses  are  en- 
tirely different  from  those  of  Holland  in  material,  in  mass 
and  in  detail.  Here  the  houses  are  built  of  stone  or  of  stone 
in  combination  with  plaster  or  clapboards,  but  brick  was 
very  sparingly  employed,  except  for  the  chimneys  and  the 
enormous  baking-ovens.  In  Holland,  on  the  contrary,  the 
architecture  was  one  almost  entirely  of  brick;  stone  was 
about  as  common  as  diamonds  are  here,  and  came  in  about 
the  same  size  pieces.  The  most  characteristic  feature  of  our 
Colonial  Dutch  houses  was  the  roof,  and  this  again  was  of 
a  new  type.  Here  either  a  long  low  sloping  roof  was  em- 
ployed or  the  gambrel  type,  so  beautifully  handled  that  the 
terms  "  Dutch  "  and  "  gambrel  "  are  synonymous. 

The  origin  of  this  roof  has  been  long  a  subject  for  dis- 
pute. It  is  purely  an  American  development,  without  any 
European  precedent,  and  its  use  must  have  arisen  from  some 


90  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 


condition  peculiar  to  this  country.  I  believe  this  is  to  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  two-story  houses  in  Colonial  days 
were  heavily  taxed,  while  one-story  houses  went  free.  The 
early  designers  therefore  endeavored  to  evade  the  law  by 
building  a  one-story  house  of  two  stories,  and  in  order  to 


First  floor  plan,  the  home  of  St.  G.  Barber,  Englewood,  X.  J. 
Aymar  Embury,  II,  architect 

get  the  rooms  in  the  second  story  as  large  as  possible,  the 
roof  was  given  a  wider  overhang  and  sloped  very  steeply. 
But,  since  continuing  the  steep  roof  slopes  on  either  side 
of  the  house  up  to  their  intersection  would  be  excessively 
high,  giving  the  house  as  seen  from  the  end  the  shape  of  a 
stingy  piece  of  pie,  after  the  builders  had  run  it  up  high 
enough  to  include  the  second  story  they  covered  over  the 
intermediate  spaces  with  as  flat  a  roof  as  possible. 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  HOUSE 


91 


The  wide  overhangs,  besides  giving  more  space  in  the 
second  floor,  had'  another  valid  reason.  The  gable  ends 
were  usually  built  of  stone,  since  they  were  difficult  to  pro- 
tect from  the  weather,  but  the  front  and  rear  walls,  covered 
by  the  wide  roof,  could  be  covered  with  plaster  much  more 


Second  floor  plan,  the  home  of  St.  G.  Barber,  Englewood,  N.  J. 
Ajinar  Emburj',  II,  architect 


cheaply  and  with  a  maximum  of  effect.  Yet  while  stone 
for  the  ends  and  plaster  for  the  front  and  rear  was  the 
usual  method  of  construction,  it  was  by  no  means  the  only 
one.  Any  or  all  of  the  materials  above  mentioned  were  used 
in  the  same  house,  and  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  to  see 
four  or  even  five  in  combination  even  in  a  very  small  build- 
ing; the  charm  of  the  free  design  which  was  the  inevitable 


92     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 


result  cannot  be  approached  in  any  more  stereotj'ped  archi- 
tecture. 

The  moldings  and  details  employed  were  as  individual  as 
the  design.     We  find  many  of  the  porch  columns,  for  ex- 


•■nsLsr  nooR.  plan- 

The  home  of  Jerome  C.  Bull,  Tuckalioe,  N.  Y. 
Aymar  Embury,  II,  architect. 

ample,  hexagonal  or  octagonal  in  shape  and  crowned  with 
capitals  the  moldings  of  which  are  suggestive  of  both  Greek 
and  Gothic  origin.  Other  houses  have  the  same  varieties  of 
Renaissance  columns  which  were  used  by  the  designers  of 
the  New  England  and  Southern  Colonial,  There  was 
nothing  forced,  nothing  strained  anywhere  apparent,  and 
the  result  was  the  creation  of  an  independent  architectural 


lllr    ll..lllf     ,,r    .J> niui.      t  .     liull,    •lu.-k.-.lHK-,     \.    Y. 


r„.    II,   archittct 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  HOUSE 


93 


style;  and  the  only  one  which  has  been  developed  in  the 
United  States. 

^Ir.  Jackson  in  his  cliapter  on  half-timber  houses  has  well 
stated  that  the  proper  style  to  employ  is  that  developed  by 


•^ECONJ)  FLOOR.  PLAN- 

The  home  of  Jerome  C.  Hull,  Tuckahoc,  N'.  Y. 
Aymar  Embury,  II,  architect 

the  race  Avhich  uses  it,  and  he  believes  that  we  should  there- 
fore design  our  work  following  the  English  traditions.  Yet 
the  proportion  of  the  American  people  whose  ancestry  is 
English  is  a  comparatively  small  one,  and  English  half-tim- 
ber architecture  is  distinctly  an  importation  in  this  country 
and  not  a  development.     Mr.  Wallis,  like  Mr.  Jackson,  also 


94     ARCHITECTURAL  ST\XES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

insists  that  the  native  style  is  the  one  which  absolutely  must 
be  employed.  I  thoroughly  agree  \\-ith  both  of  them,  and, 
if  we  are  all  three  right,  the  style  to  use  is  Dutch  or  notliing. 

Colonial  architecture  is  formal  while  the  half-timber  work 
is  informal ;  both  have  advantages,  the  former  in  its  dignity, 
and  the  latter  in  its  flexibility.  The  Dutch  work  has  the 
advantages  of  both  without  the  disadvantages  of  either. 
If  the  sjonmetry  of  the  Colonial  house  is  disturbed  its  agree- 
able qualities  are  lost,  while  the  half-timber  house  executed 
symmetrically  becomes  dry  and  tiresome  in  the  extreme. 
A  house  can  be  executed  in  any  way  you  please  in  the  Dutch 
style.  The  central  mass  of  the  house  may  be  flanked  ^vith 
wings  of  equal  size  and  similar  fenestration,  or  the  house 
may  ramble  about,  following  the  slopes  of  the  ground  and 
avoiding  big  trees  without  any  loss  of  charm.  The  first- 
storj'  rooms  can  be  high,  square  and  simple,  or  they  can  be 
low  and  broken  with  deep-set  windows,  should  that  be  the 
type  desired,  and  the  "  company  "  rooms  can  be  of  one  kind 
and  the  living-rooms  of  the  other;  and,  best  of  all,  both  can 
be  combined  into  a  single  and  harmonious  whole  without  a 
discordant  note. 

Dutch  architecture,  even  in  its  most  conventional  form,  is 
extremely  individual.  Its  designers  have  left  us  so  many 
precedents  that  in  working  in  that  style  you  never  have  the 
least  feehng  that  you  must  go  look  it  up  in  a  book  and  find 
out  if  it  was  ever  done  in  that  way  before.     You  are  very 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  HOUSE  96 

sure  that  if  it  was  never  done,  the  only  reason  was  because 
the  Dutch  did  not  happen  to  think  of  it. 

^Ir.  Wallis  has  said  that  the  influence  of  Dutch  Colonial 
compared  with  that  of  the  arcliitectures  of  the  north  and 
south  of  it  has  been  negligible.  This  is  to  some  extent  true, 
and  it  has  been  a  matter  of  never-ending  surprise  to  me  that 
the  style  is  so  little  knowTi  or  appreciated  even  here  in  New 
York,  witliin  twenty  miles  of  which  we  can  find  the  most 
exquisite  small  houses  that  were  ever  built.  It  is  true  that 
we  have  no  "  mansions,"  nor  are  there  any  "  villas,"  but  we 
have  homes.  If  country  life  is  worth  anything  at  all  it  is 
because  the  necessity  for  dress  and  convention  is  minimized, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  country  hfe  depends  upon  outdoor 
sports.  Certainl}'  nothing  could  be  more  ridiculous  than 
golf  clothes  in  an  "  Adam  room." 

I  grant  that  the  style  has  its  limitations;  there  never  was 
one  that  hadn't,  but  what  I  do  most  firmly  believe  is  that 
there  is  no  other  architecture  so  perfectly  adapted  to  Ameri- 
can conditions,  so  plastic  in  permitting  adjustments  of  ex- 
terior to  plan,  and  so  absolutelj'  suited,  aside  from  any  sen- 
timental reason,  to  small  house  architecture  as  is  the  Dutch 
Colonial.  A  small  house  cannot  be  built  two  stories  high 
before  the  roof  starts  and  not  be  too  high  for  its  width.  It 
is  essential  that  the  walls  of  a  house  should  be  wider  than 
their  height  and  this  can  be  attained  in  the  small  house  only 
by  bringing  the  roof  low.     The  Dutch,  two  hundred  years 


96     ARCHITECTURAL  ST\'LES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ago,  for  purely  practical  reasons,  discovered  that  the  gam- 
brel  roof  was  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  getting  the 
most  room  in  a  low  house;  their  solution  is  still  correct. 

The  architecture  of  the  first  settlers  in  a  countrj'  is  apt 
to  be  the  most  desirable  to  employ.  Whether  tliis  is  be- 
cause of  a  reflex  action  of  sentiment,  or  whether  it  is  that 
the  old  houses  were  built  from  materials  taken  from  the 
earth  and  fields  around  them  —  and  there  is  something  pe- 
culiarly fitting  in  the  use  of  local  materials  —  cannot  be  eas- 
ily kno^m.  The  fact  remains  that  the  Dutch  is  the  only  in- 
digenous arcliitecture  and  certainly  the  most  suitable.  With 
our  complex  modern  conditions,  the  vast  increase  in  the 
wealth,  not  only  of  the  very  rich,  but  also  of  the  well-to-do, 
conditions  in  this  country  have  somewhat  changed.  Our 
race  is  no  longer  English,  but  cosmopolitan;  its  dominant 
strain  is  English  in  political  ideas  only,  our  morals  are  of 
home  growth,  our  educational  system  has  been  adapted 
from  the  German,  our  art  is  governed  by  French  ideals. 
We  are  cosmopolitan,  and  yet  everything  we  have  taken 
from  the  old  sources  has  been  adapted  and  adjusted  to  our 
needs  until  it  has  become  stamped  with  our  ideals.  We  are 
reaching  out  and  grasping  for  everything  that  is  good,  coin- 
ing the  world's  gold  to  our  use.  That  is  precisely  what  was 
done  in  house-building  two  hundred  years  ago  by  the  set- 
tlers in  Xew  York  and  New  Jersey  who  developed  Dutch 
architecture.     We  all  agree  that  a  dwelling  house  should 


THE  DUTCH  COLONIAL  HOUSE  97 

look  like  a  dwelling  house  and  not  like  a  museum  or  a  cas- 
tle; the  only  point  of  disagreement  is  as  to  what  kind  of  a 
looking  thing  a  dwelling  house  is.  In  his  effort  to  sustain 
the  domestic  reputation  of  the  Colonial  style  Mr.  Wallis 
has  stated  that  the  Greeks,  whose  architecture  was  a  kind 
of  "  missing  link  "  ancestor  of  Colonial,  invented  the  night- 
shirt; can  he  deny  that  the  Dutch  discovered  pajamas? 
Even  more  than  Colonial,  the  Dutch  has  that  quality  of  in- 
timacy which  is  at  the  root  of  successful  work ;  and  it  has  a 
virility  and  sturdiness  wliich  makes  it  most  suitable  for  mod- 
ern work.  English  half-timber  is  frankly  an  importation, 
often  charming,  it  is  true,  but  as  unsuitable  to  the  United 
States  as  are  thatched  roofs.  Colonial  was  the  last  cry  of 
an  age  wfcen  politeness  was  made  a  god,  and  is  mannered 
and  conscious.  The  Dutch  was  sincere,  expressive  and  vi- 
tal; strong  and  pleasing  in  mass,  refined  in  detail  and  beau- 
tifully fit,  in  both  form  and  color,  to  the  American  land- 
scape. 


A  Style  of 
the   Western  Plains 

By 
Hugh  M.   G.   Garden 


Wttllir   Uurliy    Urign, 
siibiirbiin   home  that    r.-ls   s.ilidly   on    tlie   ground  by   reason   of  its 
broad  stone  biLsc.     I'laiu  brick  and  pl.ustcr  surfaces  with  stained 
wooden  strips  secure   tlie  decorative   effect 


A  Style  of  the  Western  Plains 

I  AM  asked  to  contribute  something  on  an  unnamed  style, 
sometimes  vaguelj^  referred  to  as  the  product  of  the 
Western  or  Chicago  school  —  it  would  be  presumption 
to  appropriate  to  anything  so  tenuous  the  imposing  title 
"  American  Style."  The  reader  who  has  followed  the  fore- 
going chapters  has  perhaps  noticed  that  each  author  insists 
that  the  style  chosen  shall  closelj'^  fit  and  express  the  local 
conditions.  He  has  been  shown  that  the  Enghshman,  the 
Dutchman,  the  Italian  of  a  bygone  century,  has  each  in  his 
way  produced  a  style  or  type  of  building  that  fits  our  local 
conditions  and  fits  it  better  than  any  other  style  or  type. 
All  the  authorities,  of  course,  cannot  be  right,  but  all  may 
be  partly  right,  and  I  think  that  examination  of  the  various 
arguments  will  show  that  the  qualities  which  recommend 
each  are  broadly  ahke.  The  reader  then  is  left  where  he 
began,  and  it  remains,  after  all,  a  matter  of  choice,  with 
similar  arguments  recommending  different  styles. 

There  is,  however,  a  common  gap  in  each  argument.  I/ct 
us  take,  for  instance,  the  argument  by  the  advocate  of  the 
Italian  villa  type.  He  says  in  effect  that  we  for  various 
good  reasons  should  build  houses  ha^^ng  broad,  simple  wall 
surfaces,  penetrated  by  oi>enings  which  balance  well,  but 


102    ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

need  not  of  necessity  be  obviously  symmetrical,  and  that  for 
the  sake  of  unity  we  should  have  broad,  overhanging  eaves 
and  simple,  low-sloping  roofs.  He  then  proceeds  to  show 
that  for  reasons  of  economy  such  wall  surfaces  can  be  easily 
and  beautifully  made  in  plaster.  His  deduction  is  that  we 
should  therefore  employ  the  Italian  style  which  makes  use 
of  all  these  things.  If  we  grant  that  these  things  are  de- 
sirable and  that  they  produce  "  style,"  a  logical  deduction 
would  be  that  we  should  have  them;  not  necessarily  that  we 
should  have  "  Italian  "  buildings.  If  the  result,  after  we 
have  employed  them  in  our  design,  prove  similar  to  the  Ital- 
ian villas,  well  and  good,  but  it  is  important  that  the  horse 
be  kept  in  front  of  the  cart  and  that  we  strive  for  style  in 
the  abstract,  not  for  EngHsh  or  Dutch  or  Italian  style,  not 
even  for  American  style  —  consciously. 

The  real  question  is  "What  is  Style?" — not  "What 
Style?  "  If  we  are  successful  in  determining  what  this  elu- 
sive quality  is,  then  the  way  to  get  it  will  be  the  next  object 
of  ovir  search  and  will  be,  perhaps,  not  difficult  to  find. 

All  arts  are  ahke  in  that  the  common  end  and  aim  of  each 
is  the  weaving  of  a  pattern.  The  pattern  to  be  woven  in 
the  designing  of  a  house  is  one  of  forms,  lines,  colors  and 
textures;  relating,  repeating  and  contrasting  one  with  the 
other,  creating  rhythms,  directions  and  accents.  Without 
these  rhythms  and  accents,  without  the  pattern,  the  work  re- 
mains mere  building.     Style  is  the  relation  of  these  rhythms 


A  STYLE  OF  THE  WESTERN  PLAINS  103 

and  accents,  one  to  the  other,  to  create  a  pattern;  the  rela- 
tion of  form  to  form,  color  to  color,  texture  to  texture  and 
each  to  all  creating  one  definite  expression. 

Style  is  synthetic,  and  the  arcliitect,  taking  rooms,  halls 
and  staircases,  arranges  them  in  sequence  according  to  their 
use  and  importance ;  and  in  the  rearing,  of  their  walls,  floors 
and  roofs,  relates  planes,  soUds,  voids,  lights,  shadows,  tex- 
tures and  colors  so  that  each  gives  to  each  an  added  and  en- 
riched meaning  and  expression.  A  \vindow  designed  essen- 
tially as  a  device  for  letting  light  and  air  into  a  room  he- 
comes  by  reason  of  its  proportion  and  placing,  a  shadow 
in  contrast  to  a  plane  of  light,  an  accent  or  a  note  in  su 
rhytlmiic  scale,  a  Ime  of  direction  or  a  spot  of  decoration 
according  to  its  arrangement.  The  delicate  adjustment 
of  part  to  part,  each  comely  in  itself,  the  intricate  inter- 
weaving of  texture,  form  and  color  to  produce  a  web 
or  pattern  at  once  logical  and  interesting:  that  is  style 
in  architecture.  Simplicity  of  style  is  desirable  if 
we  have  a  right  understanding  of  the  word.  The  simplicity 
of  the  side  of  a  grain  elevator  is  not  in  itself  admirable,  but 
the  simplicity  of  a  flower  is  lovely;  that  simplicity  which  at- 
tains the  highest  degree  of  elegant  and  pregnant  meaning 
without  obtrusion.  Let  us  say  an  interesting  simplicity. 
In  architecture  there  is  a  fatal  tendency  to  consider  style 
an  affair  of  columns,  cornices,  doorways,  etc.,  of  low  roofs 
and  high  roofs,  of  brick  walls  or  plaster.     A  much  more 


10*  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

intelligent  view-point  is  necessary  if  we  are  ever  to  outgrow 
the  hit-and-miss  results  that  now  make  our  streets  a  hodge- 
podge of  incongruities,  each  swearing  at  each.  It  is  doubt- 
ful if  we  shall  ever  again  have  any  great  uniformity  of  type 
such  as  has  in  given  places  and  times  produced  marked  and 
recognized  styles.  Altered  conditions  have  altered  our  ar- 
tistic ideals  and  expression.  The  development  and  growing 
independence  of  the  individual  call  for  a  more  various  ex- 
pression, but  it  is  not  inconsistent  to  assume  that  a  grow- 
ing intelligence  on  the  part  of  the  individual  will  ultimately 
result  in  an  artistic  expression  richer  in  variety  and  still 
possessing  unity  commensurate  with  an  even  development  of 
the  individual  unit.  Such  a  style  will  be  the  outgrowth  of 
democracy. 

To  apply  these  definitions  and  principles  to  house  build- 
ing, let  us  consider  an  entire  property  as  the  home,  part 
imder  roof  and  part  out-of-doors.  If  the  property  be  lo- 
cated on  a  street  in  close  contact  with  others,  privacy  will 
be  sought,  along  with  a  certain  formality  consistent  with  the 
straight  lines  of  the  street  and  of  the  property.  If  the  es- 
tate be  large,  privacy  will  be  acliieved  by  setting  the  living 
spaces  both  of  ground  and  house  back  from  the  public  high- 
ways. If  the  ground  be  susceptible  to  easy  arrangement  a 
measurable  formality  will  still  be  desirable,  for  a  house  is  but 
the  background  for  human  hfe,  and  to  reclaim  the  ground 
from  the   wild  vnW   be   the   first   necessity  to  prepare   it 


A  STYLE  OF  THE  WESTERN  PLAINS  105 

for  habitation.  If  the  ground  be  rough  and  intractable  the 
architectural  development  will  be  less  formal,  less  rigid,  for 
the  essence  of  good  design  is  that  each  part  shall  harmonize 
with  every  other  part,  and  the  house  is  but  a  part  of  the 
home,  a  part  of  the  picture. 

A  formal  Colonial  house  perched  upon  the  rugged  rocks 
of  the  ;Maine  coast  is  unsuited,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the 
Colonial  builders  to  put  them  there,  for  the  spirit  of  the 
house  and  of  its  setting  are  antagonistic.  Contrast  is  a  nec- 
essary quality  in  artistic  composition,  but  its  complement  is 
harmony.     Contrast  and  opposition  are  different  words. 

An  appreciation  of  the  "  style  "  of  the  landscape  is  the 
first  essential  in  determining  the  style  of  your  house,  and 
this  style  cannot  be  changed,  for  no  matter  how  thoroughly 
you  transform  the  garden  and  immediate  surroundings  to 
conform  to  the  selected  house  style,  there  will  still  be  a  hedge 
over  which  you  will  look  into  the  unalterable  face  of  Nature 
as  she  is  around  you.  The  house  must  grow  out  of  the 
ground  as  naturally  as  the  trees.  The  very  color  of  the  air 
has  a  bearing  on  the  style,  particularly  as  to  color.  The 
bright  hot  colors  suitable  to  the  tropics  are  a  pain  to  the  eye 
in  the  gray-blue  air  of  New  England  or  Illinois,  and  when 
the  snows  of  winter  spread  a  cold  white  background  they 
are  unbearable. 

It  is  as  impossible  to  give  a  signed  and  sealed  prescrip- 
tion for  the  selection  of  a  stvie  for  an  American  house  as  it  is 


106     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

for  the  style  of  a  portrait.  A  rough  and  rugged  man  must 
be  painted  in  a  different  way  from  a  frail  and  delicate  girl, 
and  the  circumstances  governing  each  house  may  change 
its  character  as  -widely.  The  site,  the  relative  importance 
of  the  house,  and  the  individuality  of  its  occupants  are  po- 
tent factors  in  the  determination  of  its  style.  Dignity,  ele- 
gance, picturesqueness,  simplicity  and  homeliness  are  not 
determining  factors  of  style  but  merely  attributes.  Kinds, 
quality  and  availability  of  materials  are  details  in  the  tech- 
nique of  architecture  —  not  determining  factors  of  style. 

The  illustrations  shown  are  examples  of  houses  having 
the  elusive  quality  called  "  style,"  without  being  necessarily 
recognizable  as  essays  in  any  of  the  historic  styles.  They 
show  some  of  the  characteristics  of  what  has  been  some- 
times referred  to  as  the  Chicago  School.  They  are  suflS- 
ciently  unlike  to  raise,  perhaps,  some  question  as  to  just 
what  the  Chicago  School  is,  and  the  question  is  hard  to  an- 
swer. They  show,  however,  a  common  freedom  from  the 
restraint  of  accepted  academic  formulas  of  design  and  a  gen- 
eral inclination  on  the  part  of  their  designers  to  build  sim- 
ply from  local  conditions,  expressing  logically  the  govern- 
ing functions  and  developing  the  nature  of  the  materials 
employed  in  a  manner  simple  and  at  the  same  time  inter- 
esting. 

The  chapter  by  Mr.  Frank  E.  Wallis,  "  The  Colonial 
House,"  is  so  well  written  and  is  so  largely  true  that  it  com- 


^^^s? 

9 

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t 

vi'iM^ 

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^^^P""^^^^ 

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>  arc  strongly  nccentcil 
tint  plains  of  the  site 


« 

^HHK'      ^^^  • 

ii^i."  ^ ' ' 

1  in  which  the  arrangement  and  tre 
iterials,  free  from  applied  decorati 
story  of  architecture 


1 

'  Mn^^^^^^^^l^B^^S 

|m^  ^j^^^pHfi 

■k^^2 

ling-room    in    which   the    frank    and    >t 
wood   paneling  takes   tlie  place 


ul    treatment    of 


A  STYLE  OF  THE  WESTERN  PLAINS  107 

pels  our  admiration  and  convinces  us,  at  least,  that  a  Colo- 
nial house  by  Mr.  Wallis  would  be  very  lovely  indeed.  He 
deals  some  doughty  knocks  at  what  he  calls  "  the  so-called 
misnamed  Mission  "  style,  yet  even  Mr.  Wallis  would  not 
advise  Colonial  for  the  hot  and  arid  places  whose  local  con- 
ditions produced  and  made  lovely  the  old  Missions  that  we 
still  delight  to  see.  It  is  the  modern  "  Mission  "  style,  the 
importation,  that  ^Mr.  Wallis  resents,  and  when  he  raises 
his  little  hammer,  I,  for  one,  wish  more  strength  to  his  el- 
bow. The  old  Missions  were  true  to  their  time  and  place, 
truly  and  beautifully  ^uilt,  and  we  still  find  them  good. 
The  lesson  is  always  the  same  —  to  build  closely  to  the  lines 
of  need,  of  environment,  is  always  to  build  truthfully  and 
nearly  always  beautifully.  Failure  to  do  so  always  results 
in  pretension,  and  generally  in  artistic  chaos.  The  make- 
believe  is  never  truly  or  permanently  beautiful.  As  surely 
as  a  "  Mission  "  house  looks  out  of  place  in  Massachusetts, 
just  so  surely  does  a  Colonial  house  look  ridiculous  in  New 
Mexico  or  Southern  California. 

The  argument  that  Colonial  is  indigenous,  American,  and 
therefore  to  be  preferred  for  use  to-day  could  not  be  better 
presented  than  it  is  in  the  first  chapter,  nor  could  a  fitter 
argument  against  its  too  literal  use  be  advanced  than  the 
illustration  facing  page  7.  This  picture  shows  the  living- 
room  of  a  remodeled  farmhouse  at  Pocasset,  Mass.  It  is 
a  beautiful  room,  perfectly  typical  of  a  Colonial  farmhouse. 


108  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

It  has  the  old-fashioned  wide  and  high  fireplace,  with  iron 
crane  suspending  a  large  copper  pot  and  tea-kettle.  On  the 
chimney-breast  hangs  a  powder-horn  and  in  the  corner  of 
the  room  an  old  flint-lock  rifle.  Beside  the  chimney  rests 
a  mortar  and  pestle  for  grinding  grains,  on  the  wall  a  warm- 
ing-pan and  over  one  of  the  doors  the  model  of  a  ship. 
These,  with  a  dozen  other  implements,  including  chairs,  table 
and  clock,  serve  now  to  decorate  the  room,  just  as  they  prob- 
ably did  in  the  days  when  this  house  was  occupied  by  its 
builder.  But  in  those  days  each  item  of  what  is  now  deco- 
ration was  then  a  living  vital  implement  in  the  life  witliin 
that  house.  Does  my  lady  of  to-day  boil  the  water  and  turn 
the  roast  over  this  fire  on  tliis  crane  and  roasting  spit? 
Does  she  grind  her  flour  in  this  mortar,  does  she  warm  the 
beds  with  this  warming-pan,  and  does  the  lord  of  this  manor 
keep  his  rifle  clean  and  his  flint  sharp  and  ready  Avith  pow- 
der and  ball  to  repel  the  prowhng  savage  who  threatens  the 
integrity  of  his  scalp?  I  doubt  it.  Hidden  away  in  the 
basement  is  probably  a  furnace;  in  the  kitchen  a  gas  stove 
and  a  sink,  with  hot  and  cold  water;  the  grocer  delivers  the 
flour  already  ground,  and  the  policeman  takes  care  of  the 
prowling  redskins.  This  room  then  is  a  museum  —  not  the 
living-room  of  a  family  of  to-daj'.  There  is  no  trace  here 
of  the  individuality  of  the  present  occupants ;  this  room  bears 
the  imprint  of  the  life  of  people  long  dead  and  gone,  and 
no  other.     And  why  should  the  present  lady  of  this  house 


A  STYLE  OF  THE  WESTERN  PLAINS  109 

be  denied  her  expression  in  her  home?  Because,  gentle 
reader,  she  does  not  belong  in  the  Colonial  picture;  she  is  of 
to-day,  and  her  living-room  is  of  another  day.  This  is  art 
for  art's  sake  with  a  vengeance,  and  it  is  just  stage-setting, 
not  architecture. 

If  you  will  look  into  any  of  the  beautiful  old  creations 
of  the  historic  styles  or  periods,  you  will  find  that  the  sweet 
and  human  qualities  we  now  admire  are  entirely  due  to  a 
faithful  and  free  interpretation  of  their  needs  and  environ- 
ment. We  in  our  work  to-day  are  ignoring  tliis  great  prin- 
ciple which  is  the  life  of  architecture. 

Mr.  WaUis  says,  "  I  can  think  of  no  other  style  for  a 
house."  Is  he,  then,  to  search  only  his  memor}^?  Every 
creative  artist  is  something  of  a  prophet,  a  pioneer.  Is  it 
not  reasonable,  then,  for  him  to  search  also  his  consciousness 
of  tlie  present  and  the  future?  The  grape-arbor,  the  for- 
mal garden,  the  water  pool  with  the  green  frog,  the  dainty 
napery,  cut  glass  and  old  silverware,  so  much  admired  by 
Mr.  Wallis  and  by  all  of  us,  are  not  the  exclusive  accessories 
of  a  Colonial  house.  But  I  do  not  argue  against  the  Colonial 
style  or  against  any  style,  but  only  for  the  honest  method 
of  design  that  produced  those  styles  and  which,  if  practiced 
to-day,  would  produce  something  different  but  just  as  good 
and  certainly  vastly  closer  to  us  and  to  our  needs.  The 
influence  of  beautiful  things  and  a  beautiful  home  on  peo- 
ple, and  especially  upon  children  brought  up  amid  such  sur- 


110  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

roundings,  is  of  incalculable  benefit,  but  it  is  important  that 
this  influence  be  founded  upon  a  sound  and  logical  base. 
The  sham  and  the  make-believe  in  architecture  do  not  fur- 
nish such  a  base.  Good  traditions  are  excellent,  but  are  the 
generations  to  come  to  have  nothing  vital  of  ours  to  re- 
member with  gratitude,  excepting  the  wonderful  machines 
which  we  have  invented  and  disdained  to  use  in  our  arts? 
The  truth  is  that  our  civilization  groAvs  more  and  more  def- 
inite by  increasingly  great  strides,  until  the  call  for  an  ar- 
tistic expression  of  it  becomes  imperative.  We  are  no 
longer  content  with  the  plan  or  domestic  arrangements  of 
the  Colonial  house ;  we  have  outgrown  it.  Our  list  of  build- 
ing materials  is  vastly  richer,  our  machinery  for  working 
materials  is  marvelously  capable  of  newer  and  better  uses 
than  the  imitation  of  handwork  to  which  we  now  endeavor 
to  restrict  them.  We  have  changed  and  improved  our  man- 
ner of  heating  and  Hghting  our  houses.  Every  sanitary  ar- 
rangement has  undergone  change  and  development.  In- 
deed, our  entire  life  to-day  is  so  radically  different  from  the 
life  of  the  Colonial  builders  that  it  would  be  strange  indeed! 
if  their  houses  could  in  any  way  satisfy  us  except  superfi- 
cially for  their  prettiness,  their  scenery  value. 

What  else  is  there,  then?  Certainly  notliing  ready-made 
or  easily  made;  nothing  more  than  a  right  method  of  work- 
ing. Any  skilful  architect  knows  when  he  is  violating  the 
style  traditions.     It  becomes  liis  duty  now  to  violate  them 


A  STYLE  OF  THE  WESTERN  PLAINS  111 

more  radically,  to  examine  more  critically  modern  needs, 
and  to  interpret  them  in  terms  of  his  art.  I  am  unwilling 
to  believe  that  this  is  a  great  stumbling-block.  Our  paint- 
ers, sculptors,  musicians,  writers  and  actors  have  passed  it 
long  ago.  Architecture  is  the  only  one  of  the  arts  which  is 
still  struggling  to  escape  from  the  Classic  period. 


T:he  Northern   Tradition 

By 

Alfred  Morton  Git  hens 


>n«B^^I^^^ 

X^^^M^-  r^^^^ 

Wjimm^mm^m^^^M 

1 

m^^.^^M.J3mM 

1 

^_,'fm' 

It^*sx,-.     ■ 

nn^gi^ 

1 

<7inr(.,     H„,l.,n     Km,,    nr.-l.il 

1 

Two  views  iif  "Swarlliimin-  I^xlge,"  Hryn  Mnwr.  I'lu 

•TImtc   is   nothing  in   those   hoHS«-s   that    is   not    ii    niitiirnl   ex|)rrssl(.n 
eontnirlion.     The    stout    stone    cohnnns    are    donhtless    taken    fr<Mi\ 
the  <>l>l   harns   near    I'hila.lriphia.   the  |HTp.la    surely    from 
Italy     .    .    .     Iiiit   eaih   i^  |.erfeelly   titled   to  its   lis.s 

.f 

— 

^  o 


The  Northern   Tradition 


WHEX  the  editor  asks  the  most  fittmg  style  for  an 
American  country  house  —  by  which  presumably 
he  means  the  style  proper  to  the  major  part  of  the 
United  States,  not  South  America  or  Southern  California, 
with  their  different  materials  and  traditions  —  the  self-evi- 
dent answer  seems  to  be,  "  That  style  which  is  the  natural 
expression  of  our  building  materials  and  constructive  prob- 
lems." 

A  house,  after  all,  is  an  enclosure  of  walls  with  a  roof 
over  it.  Now,  no  matter  what  the  material,  walls  are  ver- 
tical always,  and  windows  and  doors  are  merely  holes  in 
them.  But  the  roofs  vary  in  character  with  the  material 
used,  and  seem  to  give  the  first  broad  impression.  An 
Eastern  house,  and  one  pictures  higli  parapet  walls  and  hid- 
den behind  them  a  flat,  clay  roof  where  the  master  walks  in 
the  cool  of  the  day ;  a  house  of  the  romance  countries,  Italy, 
Spain  or  Southern  France,  and  one  sees  gently  sloping  tile 
roofs  and  broad  eaves ;  Xorthern  France  suggests  the  exces- 
sively steep  slate  of  Xormandy  farms  or  the  chateaux  of  the 
Loire;  Germany  and  Britain,  and  whatever  the  so-called 
"  style,"  the  roof-slope  is  neither  steep  like  the  X^'orman  or 
flat  hke  the  Southern,  but  a  half-way  pitch,  generally  end- 


116     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ing  in  gabled  walls.  A  child  draws  a  house  on  his  slate  and 
though  one  cannot  tell  whether  it  be  "  Gothic  "  or  "  Colo- 
nial," still  it  never  fails  to  show  the  roof-slope.  Perhaps 
the  roof  should  be  the  standard  of  classification,  that  just 
as  a  fossil-hunter  ignores  at  first  all  other  structure  and 
broadly  classifies  his  skeletons  by  the  tooth  formation,  so  the 


First  floor  plan.  "Swarthmore  Lodge,"  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 
Charles  Barton  Keen  and  Frank  Mead,  architects. 


philosopher-architect  should  look  to  his  roofs  for  gtii  dance 
—  the  teeth  of  the  house,  as  it  were. 

Roof-slope  seemingly  should  be  determined  by  the  ma- 
terials used.  Tin  we  have  apparently  discarded;  interlock- 
ing tile  is  so  expensive  that  for  the  immediate  future  it  will 
not  be  common  enough  to  count  in  the  average;  so  the  slope 
must  be  determined  by  slate  and  shingles.     Build  the  roof 


THE  NORTHERN  TRADITION 


117 


flatter  than  thirty  degrees,  and  rain  and  snow  will  drift 
in;  steeper  than  forty-five  degrees  or  fifty,  and  space  is 
wasted  and  money  with  it;  narrow  limits  indeed  —  enough, 
it  seems,  to  form  a  dominant  character. 

If  tliis  argument  is  just,  then  the  conclusions  must  have 


Second  floor  plan,  "Swortbraore  Lodge,"  Bryn  Mawr,  Pa. 
Charles  Barton  Keen  and  Frank  Mead,  architects. 

been  reached  long  ago.  They  should  be  found  crystallized 
as  a  type  in  use  ever  since  building  with  these  materials  be- 
gan. Fads  and  fashions  might  assert  themselves  for  awhile, 
but  after  each  there  should  he  a  recurrence  to  the  type. 

If  we  follow  the  histon,'  of  country  houses  in  a  northern 
country,  England  for  example,  as  it  is  best  known,  we  find 
striking  proofs  of  this  surmise.     The  builder  of  the  ^fiddle 


118  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

Ages  knew  nothing  of  distant  lands,  had  notliing  to  copy, 
and  therefore  his  houses  should  obey  this  natural  law  as  to 
slope  without  attempt  at  concealment,  and  so  they  do;  so  do 
the  later  houses  without  exception  down  to  Elizabeth's  time. 


A  house  at  V 
Charles  Barton 


ilia  Xova,  Pa. 
Keen,  architect. 


when  certaiji  men  masked  their  roofs  with  high  parapets,  as 
at  Hatfield  or  Bramshill;  a  few  years,  and  under  King 
James  the  fad  is  forgotten  and  the  true  tradition  revives. 
The  high  Renaissance  comes  with  its  artificiahty  and  the  type 
is  banished  to  the  simpler  houses  of  the  countryside  or  the 
colonies.  These  recognize  the  Classic  Revival  by  veneering 
a  pilaster  each  side  the  entrance  door,  by  inventing  a  sort  of 
pediment  to  put  over  them,  by  elaborating  the  eaves  into  a 


1  ^  : 


THE  NORTHERN  TRADITION 


119 


cornice  and  perhaps  adopting  a  more  orderly  arrangement 
of  windows,  but  otherwise  the  type  is  little  altered. 

Then  why  not  this  for  the  answer  to  the  question  —  this 
nameless  basic  type  which  one  writer  calls  the  "  English  Tra- 


A  house  at  Woodmere,  L.  I. 
Charles  Barton  Keen,  architect. 


dition,"  though  it  was  the  tradition  equally  of  Scotland,  of 
Ireland,  of  the  American  colonies  and,  it  seems,  most  north- 
ern countries?  Its  characteristics  are  its  roof-pitch,  its 
gables  (for  gables  are  simpler  than  hipped  roofs  framed  to 
slope  back  at  the  ends  of  the  house),  the  moderate  overhang 
of  roof  (for  broad  eaves  shut  out  the  sunlight  which  in  the 
north  we  need),  and  the  importance  given  to  chimneys. 
Examples  of  it  are  the  Tudor  country  houses,  the  simpler 
of  the  Georgian,  the  Colonial  of  the  northern  states,  barring 
those  houses  showing  the  worst  artificialities ;  the  Dutch  Co- 
lonial, with  its  thrifty  gambrel  roof,  framed  to  get  most  with 


120  ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

least  expense,  and,  purest  of  all,  the  farmhouses  and  barns 
here  and  m  Northern  Europe.  Just  now  the  type  seems 
undergoing  a  curious  development  in  England,  a  compUca- 
tion  of  many  gables,  of  strange  and  restless  oddities  of  con- 
torted, half-developed  forms,  the  picturesque  run  wild.  In 
America,  Procrustes-like,  we  stretch  it  to  fit  a  repertoire  of 
"  styles  " —  loaded  with  false  half-timber  to  wear  its  appear- 
ance of  some  centuries  ago ;  decked  with  pilasters  in  the  fond 
hope  that  it  will  appear  "  Classic  "  or  what  is  called  "  Co- 
lonial " ;  shorn  of  its  gables,  with  roof  depressed  and  wide 
eaves,  it  is  "  Italian." 

One  enters  a  certain  suburb  of  New  York.  All  the 
houses  are  new;  no  buildings  were  there  a  year  or  two  ago; 
it  was  a  clear  field  for  architects  to  do  what  they  could,  for 
the  promoters  were  anxious  to  make  it  an  ideal  suburb;  yet 
its  general  impression  is  discordant  in  the  extreme.  Houses 
are  individually  most  interesting,  far  above  those  of  the  av- 
erage town  in  character,  yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  unpleasant 
towns  one  ever  sees.  One  leaves  it  with  discouragement, 
with  the  impression  that  our  country  architecture  is  result- 
ing in  a  condition  worse  than  the  much-despised  mid-nine- 
teenth century,  when  at  least  there  was  a  certain  harmony; 
that  our  study,  our  famiharity  wth  the  best  work  in  the 
world  has  resulted  in  nothing;  that  "the  mountain  has  la- 
bored and  brought  forth  a  mouse." 

One  passes  "  Colonial,"  "  half-timber,"  "  modern  English 


THE  NORTHERN  TRADITION  121 

plaster,"  "  thatched  shingle  roofs,"  "  Italian  adaptations  " — 
all  seriously  studied  too,  and  most  of  the  houses  distinctly 
good  according  to  their  several  ideals  —  and  the  result  is 
wildest  discord.  Each  house  strives  to  assert  its  indepen- 
dence and  drown  its  fellow.  It  is  as  if  in  an  opera  Briin- 
hilde  and  Carmen,  Yum- Yum  and  Aida,  Thais  and  the 
Runaway  Girl  were  all  on  the  stage  together,  answering 
each  to  each  in  her  own  song,  some  serious,  some  frivolous, 
each  admirable,  and  the  result  diabolical. 

An  English  or  a  German  town  never  gives  this  impres- 
sion. Is  it  possible  that  there  they  have  a  clearer  concep- 
tion of  the  basic  type?  One  house  may  have  the  orderly  ar- 
rangement of  the  Georges  and  the  next  a  Tudor-arched 
doorway  and  mullioned  windows,  but  the  difference  seems 
rather  interesting.  Is  it  because  they  are  all  perfectly  nat- 
ural in  their  use  of  materials  and  roof  forms,  members  of 
the  same  family,  so  to  speak,  all  examples  of  the  same  tra- 
ditional type,  nearer,  perhaps,  than  their  builders  realized 
or  that  one  can  recognize  at  present  on  account  of  his  hav- 
ing befogged  his  wits  with  much  reading  of  the  character- 
istics of  these  "  styles?  " 

But  this  was  to  be  an  article  upholding  a  certain  "  style!  " 

Until  a  style  is  past  and  done  with,  it  has  no  name.     The 

medieval  architect  would  have  been  much  surprised  to  learn 

that  he  was  designing  in  "  Gothic,"  or  the  early  settler  that 


122     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

he  was  doing  "  Dutch  Colonial."  Let  us  beg  the  question 
then,  and  argue  for  a  certain  type,  rather.  "  Grayeyres," 
"  Two  Stacks,"  "  Swarthmore  Lodge  "  or  the  Villa  Nova  or 
Woodmere  houses  are  pure  examples,  but  what  can  they  be 
called  more  than  "  Northern  Tradition?"  As  far  as  I  can 
see  there  is  nothing  in  them  not  a  natural  expression  of  con- 
struction. The  stout  stone  columns  were  doubtless  taken 
from  the  old  barns  near  Philadelphia,  the  pergola  surely 
from  Italy,  the  porch  about  the  Villa  Nova  house  from  no- 
where at  all,  but  each  is  perfectly  fitted  to  its  uses.  What 
difference  does  it  make  whether  windows  are  in  groups  with 
muUions  between  or  each  a  single  rectangle  fitted  with  small, 
square  panes,  or  the  doors  round-arched  with  fan-hghts  or 
depressed-pointed  with  clustered  moldings? 

They  are  of  a  type  with  gables  and  sloping  roofs,  the 
whole  house  under  a  single  roof  or  with  a  long  main  ridge 
with  intersecting  gables  disposed  either  formally  or  infor- 
mally as  the  site,  the  plan,  or  the  owner's  whim  suggests. 
In  each  the  gentle  lines  of  silliouette  seem  to  fit  our  irregu- 
lar treatment  of  a  countryside  where,  for  instance,  the  long 
tranquil  lines  of  the  Italian  villas  might  seem  unrelated. 
They  must  have  a  proper  setting  of  formal  terrace  and  gar- 
den to  be  in  their  full  majesty;  but  our  northern  type  is 
democratic  and  seems  born  of  the  soil.  It  suits  hillside  or 
meadow,  formal  gardens  or  no  gardens  at  all  with  equal  nat- 
uralness, a  si7W  qua  non  of  a  successful  American  type,  for 


•Two  Stacks,"  iirar   lMiil(i(lil|iliiii,   I'd. Mr.   Klmiilcr's  own   house.     TIr- 

cntraiicv    front  alMivr;   IIk-  (tarilt-n    front  Ih-Iow.     TIh-   tfxture  and 

color  of  the  >loncwi>rk  makes  nniicccssnry  and 

snpcrtiiiciiis  all  exterior  decoration 


THE  NORTHERN  TRADITION  123 

while  one  man  likes  formality,  another  does  not;  where  one 
man  desires  a  garden  with  straight  paths  and  arhors  another 
would  sow  in  grass  with  clmnps  of  trees,  and  so  it  goes. 

"  Northern  Tradition  "  as  a  title  is  misleading  in  one  re- 
spect. Its  defense  has  not  been  attempted  because  it  is  tra- 
ditional; that  were  an  emotional  reason,  as,  alas!  most  archi- 
tectural argmnents  seem  to  be  —  misty,  built  on  a  morass  of 
sentiment,  will-o'-the-wisps  which  lead  to  self  destruction. 
But  the  argument  is  that  the  house  should  take  its  form 
from  the  materials  employed  and  the  constructive  problem 
to  be  solved,  all  in  the  easiest  and  most  natural  way,  the  old, 
old  argument  of  Ruskin,  the  "  Cherchcz  le  Vcritc  "  of  the 
Paris  school,  by  which  they  mean  that  the  most  direct  solu- 
tion of  the  constructive  problem  should  determine  the  form 
of  the  result.  Xow,  since  the  problem  has  been  substantially 
the  same  in  Xorthern  Europe  since  the  Middle  Ages,  we 
should  test  our  solution  by  comparison  with  the  persisting 
basic  type  there;  that,  as  it  seems,  our  solution  agrees  with 
this,  we  may  feel  sure  we  have  argued  logically,  that  our 
type  is  the  same  as  this,  and  that  by  so  building  we  are 
merely  continuing  the  "  Xorthern  Tradition." 

Some  of  my  predecessors  have  argued  that  historic  as- 
sociation should  govern  style;  others  that  any  beautiful  ijuul- 
ity  should  be  adopted.  Both  true,  but  is  it  not  true  that  we 
should  take  only  what  we  can  properly  assimilate;  that  all 
else,  be  it  beautiful  beyond  words,  we  may  admire  but  must 


124     ARCHITECTURAL  STYLES  FOR  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

pass  by,  to  work  out  our  own  solution  with  the  natural  use 
of  our  own  materials? 

Look  at  the  House  and  Garden  symbol  in  the  circle  re- 
produced on  the  title  page  of  this  volume;  what  "  style"  is 
that  house?  Dear  knows;  but  it  does  not  matter.  Un- 
consciously the  magazine  has  adopted  in  its  simplest  form 
the  Northern  Tradition,  and  what  is  unconscious  is  natural; 
and  what  is  natural  is  best. 


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